KBC Group NV Acquires 100,086 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

KBC Group NV raised its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 81.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 222,725 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 100,086 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Corning were worth $10,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Corning by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 2,422 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Seeds Investor LLC grew its holdings in Corning by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 7,708 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Corning by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,182 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Corning by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,107 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,836,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in Corning by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 7,138 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE:GLW traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $53.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,066,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,636,227. The firm has a market cap of $45.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.10, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $48.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.01. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 3.34%. Corning's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Corning's dividend payout ratio is presently 215.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Mizuho set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Corning from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.68, for a total value of $849,826.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,692.56. This trade represents a 51.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 20,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,796 shares of company stock worth $3,632,635. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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.