Valmark Advisers Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Valmark Advisers Inc. cut its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,245 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 327 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Corning by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC now owns 258,026 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $12,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,315 shares during the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,836,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Corning by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 19,581 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Corning by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,170 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, bLong Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $268,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,085 shares of company stock worth $2,345,436 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE GLW opened at $52.81 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33. 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 (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.11%.

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.