LMR Partners LLP Purchases 700,442 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

LMR Partners LLP raised its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 140.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,200,442 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 700,442 shares during the period. Corning accounts for about 0.5% of LMR Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. LMR Partners LLP owned about 0.14% of Corning worth $57,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Corning by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,892,946 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $85,468,000 after acquiring an additional 148,042 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Corning by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $8,975,000 after acquiring an additional 62,514 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Corning by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 890,981 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $40,228,000 after buying an additional 12,451 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Corning by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 65,183 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $3,092,000 after buying an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Corning by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,079 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $7,940,000 after buying an additional 10,196 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of GLW traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.25. 4,639,459 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,949,445. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.51. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $35.12 and a 52 week high of $55.33. The company has a market cap of $41.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.19, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Corning's dividend payout ratio is 215.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on GLW shares. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Corning presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.08.

Insider Activity at Corning

In related news, VP John Z. Zhang sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.91, for a total value of $375,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $450,805.10. The trade was a 45.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 20,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $892,743.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.