Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,256,300 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 66,476 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Corning were worth $59,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Corning by 76.7% during the 4th 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 period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in Corning by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Corning during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corning Trading Down 1.4 %

GLW opened at $45.91 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $1,557,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GLW shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.31.

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.