Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Sells 4,200 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Key Points

• Levin Capital Strategies L.P. reduced its stake in Corning Incorporated by 45.5%, now holding 5,035 shares valued at $231,000 as of the latest 13F filing.
• Corning announced a $0.28 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 29th, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%.
• Analysts have revised their ratings for Corning, with Barclays raising its price target from $52.00 to $65.00, and other firms issuing various ratings from "buy" to "strong buy."

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. cut its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 45.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,035 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s holdings in Corning were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Corning during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV raised its stake in shares of Corning by 165.9% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 742 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 115.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 887 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Corning from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Corning from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Corning from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $56.00 price objective on Corning and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 16,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,692.56. This trade represents a 51.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Avery H. Nelson III sold 36,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,036,813.88. This represents a 35.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $7,836,789 over the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Corning Trading Up 1.2%

GLW stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Thursday, reaching $64.76. The company had a trading volume of 9,613,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,645,645. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $37.31 and a 52 week high of $66.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.59 and a 200 day moving average of $49.48. The company has a market cap of $55.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.89, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.08.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 5.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.7%. Corning's payout ratio is presently 119.15%.

About Corning

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.