First National Advisers LLC Takes $2.52 Million Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Key Points

• First National Advisers LLC acquired 55,104 shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) valued at approximately $2,522,000 during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Congress Wealth Management LLC, significantly increased their holdings in Corning during the fourth quarter.
• Corning announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, to be paid on September 29th, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.02%.

First National Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 55,104 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,522,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LMR Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Corning by 140.1% during the 4th quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 1,200,442 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $57,045,000 after buying an additional 700,442 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter worth $306,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Corning by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,358 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,567 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Corning by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 22,379 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Corning by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,300,954 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $59,558,000 after purchasing an additional 23,781 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GLW shares. Morgan Stanley set a $56.00 price target on shares of Corning and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Corning from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $60.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Corning in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 target price (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.25.

Corning Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE GLW traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,073,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,661,715. Corning Incorporated has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $63.91. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $52.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Corning had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Corning's payout ratio is currently 119.15%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other news, SVP Soumya Seetharam sold 6,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total transaction of $325,315.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,250,250. This trade represents a 20.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,692.56. This represents a 51.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,534 shares of company stock worth $2,739,891 over the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.