CapWealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

CapWealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 448,880 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,651 shares during the quarter. Corning makes up approximately 2.3% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. CapWealth Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Corning worth $21,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,710,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,459,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Corning by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total value of $241,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $324,213. This represents a 42.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,085 shares of company stock worth $2,345,436 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of GLW opened at $52.58 on Friday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $45.02 billion, a PE ratio of 90.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.19.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted 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 return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS 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 $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GLW shares. StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (up from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Corning presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

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.