Woodline Partners LP Buys 649,399 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 449.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 793,871 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 649,399 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Corning were worth $37,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Corning by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 66,063 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,139,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Corning by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,170 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Corning by 18.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its stake in Corning by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 10,461 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Corning by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 19,581 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $930,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $52.00 target price on Corning in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Corning Price Performance

NYSE GLW opened at $47.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.66, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.09. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $35.40 and a 1-year high of $55.33. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $44.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.50.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. Corning’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 215.38%.

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.