Westpac Banking Corp Reduces Holdings in Corning Incorporated $GLW

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp significantly reduced its investment in Corning Incorporated by 88.2%, owning 4,698 shares valued at $215,000 after selling 35,264 shares in the last quarter.
• Institutional investors own 69.80% of Corning's stock, with large stakeholders like Northern Trust Corp and Dimensional Fund Advisors making notable increases to their positions.
• Corning reported earnings of $0.60 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, resulting in a 1.7% yield.

Westpac Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 88.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,698 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 35,264 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Corning were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Corning by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth $483,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Corning by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 20,988 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares in the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Corning during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in Corning by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,182 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.68, for a total value of $849,826.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,692.56. The trade was a 51.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Wendell P. Weeks sold 82,103 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.19, for a total transaction of $5,352,294.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 809,295 shares in the company, valued at $52,757,941.05. This trade represents a 9.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 211,484 shares of company stock valued at $12,813,804 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on GLW shares. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Corning from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Corning in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Corning from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Corning presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.17.

Corning Stock Performance

Shares of GLW stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $65.61. 1,373,892 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,628,431. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $37.31 and a fifty-two week high of $66.50.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Corning had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. 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.