Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Sold by Vista Investment Management

Vista Investment Management lessened its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,027 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 324 shares during the period. Vista Investment Management’s holdings in Corning were worth $381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Corning by 8.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,892,946 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $85,468,000 after purchasing an additional 148,042 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,212 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Corning by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,994 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,910 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GLW. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $52.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.08.

Corning Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:GLW opened at $48.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $35.30 and a 1-year high of $55.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.09.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. Corning had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Corning’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Corning’s payout ratio is 215.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 20,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $892,743.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP John Z. Zhang sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.91, for a total transaction of $375,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $450,805.10. This trade represents a 45.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Company 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.