Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 30,379 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 777,560 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 30,379 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $23,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Corning by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,286 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its position in Corning by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 19,359 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in Corning by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 14,785 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. New World Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Corning by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 11,800 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,719 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP John Z. Zhang sold 12,546 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.42, for a total value of $419,287.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,355 shares in the company, valued at $379,484.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Vice Chairman Lawrence D. Mcrae sold 77,464 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.24, for a total value of $2,574,903.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 215,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,155,042.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Z. Zhang sold 12,546 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.42, for a total transaction of $419,287.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,355 shares in the company, valued at $379,484.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 119,988 shares of company stock worth $3,984,964. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Corning from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Corning from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.89.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GLW opened at $33.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a PE ratio of 47.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $25.26 and a 52 week high of $36.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.36 and its 200-day moving average is $30.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 4.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 157.75%.

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.