Blue Trust Inc. Sells 5,666 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,889 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 5,666 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in Corning by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its position in shares of Corning by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 10,461 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Corning by 76.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Corning by 4.5% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,444 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Corning by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,816 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,128,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $1,557,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total transaction of $241,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,700 shares in the company, valued at $324,213. This represents a 42.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,085 shares of company stock worth $2,345,436 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Corning Stock Performance

Shares of GLW stock opened at $52.58 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.66, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.52 and its 200 day moving average is $46.26. Corning Incorporated has a 12 month low of $30.72 and a 12 month high of $55.33.

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

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 193.11%.

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.