Sciencast Management LP Reduces Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Sciencast Management LP decreased its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 83.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,191 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 52,097 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Corning were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Amundi increased its position in shares of Corning by 139.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,900,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $186,186,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268,436 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $92,522,000. Appaloosa LP bought a new stake in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $71,280,000. FMR LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Corning by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,534,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242,718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Four investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.31.

Corning Trading Down 0.4 %

Corning stock opened at $48.49 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.60, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 52-week low of $30.72 and a 52-week high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.