Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 112.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,169 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 12,259 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Corning were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth about $302,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Corning by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its stake in Corning by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 236,405 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $11,188,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Corning by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 105,568 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,026,000 after acquiring an additional 8,744 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in Corning by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 20,017 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GLW. Bank of America raised their price objective on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Mizuho set a $52.00 price target on Corning in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Corning from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.08.

Corning Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of GLW stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $50.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,037,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,978,875. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.62 billion, a PE ratio of 87.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.68. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $36.58 and a 12-month high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Corning's payout ratio is currently 215.38%.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In related news, VP John Z. Zhang sold 9,610 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total value of $473,676.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Soumya Seetharam sold 14,313 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $715,793.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,575,565.05. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 75,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,632,635. Corporate 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.