LPL Financial LLC Raises Stock Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Corning Incorporated by 6.5%, now holding over 1.17 million shares valued at approximately $54 million.
• Corning's stock has seen upgraded price targets from analysts, with Susquehanna setting a new target at $75, while the average target price currently stands at $63.25.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, despite having a high payout ratio of 119.15%.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,179,878 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 72,510 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.14% of Corning worth $54,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GLW. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Corning by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 2,422 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Seeds Investor LLC increased its position in Corning by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 7,708 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 7,138 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Corning and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Corning from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Corning from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Corning in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Four equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.25.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In related news, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 16,646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.22, for a total transaction of $1,035,714.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,473,804.98. This trade represents a 29.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,692.56. The trade was a 51.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $7,836,789 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Corning Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Corning stock opened at $63.25 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $52.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.28, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $37.18 and a 12-month high of $63.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Corning had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 5.77%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. Analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Corning's dividend payout ratio is currently 119.15%.

Corning Company 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.

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