Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 780,699 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,561 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $37,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Corning by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Corning Trading Up 1.3 %

Corning stock opened at $47.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $30.72 and a one year high of $55.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a PE ratio of 81.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.15 and its 200 day moving average is $47.31.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS 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 given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

About Corning

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.