Vest Financial LLC Buys 6,538 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 39.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,224 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 6,538 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Corning were worth $1,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $302,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Corning by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 105,568 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,026,000 after purchasing an additional 8,744 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Corning by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 20,017 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Corning by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 15,506 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,190 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Corning

In related news, SVP Soumya Seetharam sold 6,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $325,315.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,250,250. This represents a 20.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 20,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $892,743.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,796 shares of company stock worth $3,632,635 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Corning Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:GLW traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $50.80. 4,355,071 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,948,298. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.59, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.76 and a 200 day moving average of $47.74. Corning Incorporated has a 12 month low of $37.05 and a 12 month high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Corning had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 215.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered 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, April 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Corning from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.08.

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.