New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 535,684 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 154,807 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Corning worth $25,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in Corning by 124.8% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 51,250 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after buying an additional 28,448 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its stake in Corning by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 134,758 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $6,404,000 after acquiring an additional 9,164 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Corning by 134.9% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,335 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Corning by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 138,211 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $6,568,000 after acquiring an additional 3,311 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,085 shares of company stock worth $2,103,486. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Performance

Corning stock opened at $51.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.85 and its 200 day moving average is $46.61.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. Research analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Corning 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.