Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 7,653 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 302,651 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 7,653 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $14,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Corning by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 27,127 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Corning by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 17,507 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at about $414,000. Finally, Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Corning by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 918,919 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $43,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,186 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE:GLW opened at $47.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.88. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. On average, analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Corning Company 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.