AGP Franklin LLC Takes $2.43 Million Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

AGP Franklin LLC purchased a new stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 51,198 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,000. Corning makes up approximately 1.5% of AGP Franklin LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Corning by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Corning during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in Corning by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction 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 approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GLW shares. StockNews.com lowered Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.69.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE:GLW opened at $41.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.34 and a 200-day moving average of $47.78. Corning Incorporated has a twelve month low of $30.72 and a twelve month high of $55.33. The firm has a market cap of $35.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.10%.

About Corning

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.