Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,111,923 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 156,721 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.13% of Corning worth $52,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 202.4% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on GLW. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Corning has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.31.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $39.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33. The company has a market capitalization of $33.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.37, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.95 and a 200-day moving average of $47.93.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Corning’s payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Profile

Corning Incorporated engages in the display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices.