Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Acquires 221 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,226 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Corning were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Corning by 258.4% during the 4th quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,883,000 after buying an additional 89,268 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Corning by 48.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,975,000 after acquiring an additional 62,514 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Corning by 52.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Corning by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,296,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Corning by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $6,565,000 after purchasing an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold 41,085 shares of company stock worth $2,103,486 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Corning Stock Down 0.8 %

GLW opened at $51.46 on Friday. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $30.72 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.72, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.85 and its 200 day moving average is $46.61. 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 (NYSE:GLW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corning currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Corning 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.