Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 166,717 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,572 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Corning were worth $7,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,253,000. Mariner LLC raised its position in Corning by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 3,869,358 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $183,867,000 after acquiring an additional 2,215,840 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Corning by 101.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,951,938 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $135,140,000 after buying an additional 1,483,151 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Corning by 3,441.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,190,359 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $54,495,000 after buying an additional 1,156,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at $45,753,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GLW. UBS Group increased their target price on Corning from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on Corning from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Corning in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Argus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Corning from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.25.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $800,692.56. This represents a 51.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Avery H. Nelson III sold 36,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $2,256,302.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,838 shares in the company, valued at $4,036,813.88. This trade represents a 35.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,381 shares of company stock worth $7,836,789 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Corning Price Performance

Corning stock traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.03. 5,845,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,070,007. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $63.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $53.13 billion, a PE ratio of 65.99, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.08. The company's fifty day moving average is $52.46 and its 200-day moving average is $49.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during 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 company earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Corning's 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.