Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Corning Incorporated by 25.9%, owning approximately 1.58 million shares valued at $72.4 million.
• Several hedge funds have notably increased their holdings in Corning, with SG Americas Securities LLC raising its position by 3,441.4% during the first quarter.
• Corning's recent earnings report exceeded expectations, with $0.60 EPS for the quarter, outperforming analysts' estimates of $0.57.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 25.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,581,895 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 325,595 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Corning worth $72,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Corning by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,870,375 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $516,560,000 after purchasing an additional 208,826 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Corning by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,800,573 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $465,723,000 after purchasing an additional 78,497 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Corning by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,347,977 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $290,610,000 after purchasing an additional 80,872 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Corning by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,048,735 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $287,436,000 after purchasing an additional 293,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Corning by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,285,990 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $251,190,000 after purchasing an additional 303,607 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $75.00 price target (up previously from $60.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Corning from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Corning from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Corning in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Corning from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Corning currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other news, 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,838 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,036,813.88. The trade was a 35.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Paul O'day sold 14,879 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.36, for a total value of $927,854.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 35,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,228,933.48. This represents a 29.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 211,484 shares of company stock worth $12,813,804. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Corning Stock Down 0.4%

Corning stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $65.46. 1,991,700 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,670,259. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $54.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $56.07 billion, a PE ratio of 69.69, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.08. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $37.31 and a one year high of $66.50.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.84 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 5.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Corning's payout ratio is presently 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.