Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 6,018 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Carret Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,098 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 6,018 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $4,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GLW. Northstar Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Corning by 258.4% during the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 89,268 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Corning by 48.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $8,975,000 after purchasing an additional 62,514 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Corning by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its position in Corning by 27.5% during 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 during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GLW. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $45.56 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $30.72 and a 52 week high of $55.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.89 and its 200 day moving average is $47.43. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.55, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued 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 (DPR) is presently 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.