Financial Counselors Inc. Lowers Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250,532 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 52,119 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Corning were worth $11,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GLW. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Corning by 115.8% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 887 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Corning Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Corning stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.58. The company had a trading volume of 4,098,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,374,598. The company's 50-day moving average is $49.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.26. Corning Incorporated has a twelve month low of $37.18 and a twelve month high of $55.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $44.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. Corning had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. Corning's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Corning's dividend payout ratio is presently 215.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corning news, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.68, for a total transaction of $849,826.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,692.56. This trade represents a 51.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Soumya Seetharam sold 14,313 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $715,793.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 31,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,575,565.05. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 75,796 shares of company stock worth $3,632,635. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GLW. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Corning from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Corning in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Mizuho set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Corning from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.73.

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.