Meeder Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Shares in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired 35,631 shares of Corning Incorporated, valued at approximately $1,631,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Several analysts have increased their price targets for Corning, with Citigroup raising theirs from $52.00 to $60.00 and rating the stock a "buy."
• Corning announced a $0.28 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 2.02% yield, with a payout ratio of 215.38%.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 35,631 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,631,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its position in Corning by 165.9% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 742 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Corning by 115.8% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 887 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, COO Avery H. Nelson III sold 36,240 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $2,256,302.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,036,813.88. The trade was a 35.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 16,646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.22, for a total transaction of $1,035,714.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,804.98. This trade represents a 29.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $7,836,789 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Corning Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE GLW traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.98. 3,150,350 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,668,344. The stock has a market cap of $53.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $37.18 and a one year high of $63.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.08.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Corning had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 5.77%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Corning's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GLW shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Corning in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Corning from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Corning from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $56.00 price objective on Corning and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.25.

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.