Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 145,152 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $6,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Corning during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GLW. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Price Performance

Corning stock opened at $45.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.29. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $30.72 and a 52 week high of $55.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.97 billion, a PE ratio of 78.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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 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 research analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

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.