National Pension Service Acquires 11,240 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Corning Incorporated by 0.8%, acquiring an additional 11,240 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately $66 million.
• Insider selling activity is prominent, as Corning's EVP sold over 16,600 shares and the CFO sold approximately 14,000 shares, resulting in significant decreases in their positions.
• Corning's stock has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with target prices ranging from $56.00 to $75.00, reflecting a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,441,662 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 11,240 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.17% of Corning worth $65,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV boosted its holdings in Corning by 165.9% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 742 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Corning by 90.1% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Corning in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Corning

In related news, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 16,646 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.22, for a total value of $1,035,714.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,473,804.98. This trade represents a 29.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Edward A. Schlesinger sold 14,082 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.28, for a total value of $877,026.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 78,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,520.48. This represents a 15.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 211,484 shares of company stock valued at $12,813,804 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLW has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Corning from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $75.00 target price (up previously from $60.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their target price on Corning from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $56.00 target price on Corning and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.17.

Corning Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE GLW opened at $65.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock's 50-day moving average is $55.41 and its 200-day moving average is $50.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion for 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 last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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