Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 38.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 338,475 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,837 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Corning were worth $16,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at about $490,933,000. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Corning by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 262,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $12,475,000 after purchasing an additional 41,144 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 196.0% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,033 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 46,611 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,215,000 after purchasing an additional 11,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Corning by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 70,154 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,334,000 after buying an additional 11,637 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Corning Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE: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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.90. The company has a market capitalization of $39.33 billion, a PE ratio of 79.16, a P/E/G 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. On average, equities analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.10%.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. This trade represents 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research 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 an average target price of $54.31.

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.