Northern Trust Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,870,375 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 208,826 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.27% of Corning worth $516,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Corning by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,903,247 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $4,747,402,000 after purchasing an additional 916,528 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Corning by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,470,610 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $875,633,000 after acquiring an additional 533,686 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Corning in the 4th quarter worth approximately $490,933,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Corning by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,800,573 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $465,723,000 after acquiring an additional 78,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,048,735 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $287,436,000 after purchasing an additional 293,713 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In related news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:GLW opened at $44.44 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.13 and a 200-day moving average of $47.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.08 billion, a PE ratio of 76.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $32.84 and a 52 week high of $55.33.

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

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Corning’s payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho set a $52.00 price target on Corning in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.31.

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.