Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $41.69 Million Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 877,339 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 13,642 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $41,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Corning by 0.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 39,225,452 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,771,029,000 after purchasing an additional 133,214 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Corning by 3.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,534,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242,718 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Corning by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,853,076 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $219,116,000 after acquiring an additional 38,168 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Corning by 52.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $168,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Corning by 1.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,810,435 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $126,893,000 after acquiring an additional 52,667 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:GLW opened at $51.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $30.72 and a 52 week high of $55.33. The firm has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Corning’s payout ratio is currently 193.11%.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In related news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total value of $435,722.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 a total of 41,085 shares of company stock worth $2,103,486 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.