John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Trims Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 620,907 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 48,970 shares during the quarter. Corning makes up 4.3% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Corning worth $29,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 89,268 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Corning by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,975,000 after buying an additional 62,514 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Corning by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after buying an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Corning by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,296,000 after buying an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Corning by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,565,000 after buying an additional 29,790 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Corning Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GLW opened at $50.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.63, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.10. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $55.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GLW. StockNews.com lowered Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has a consensus 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.