Convergence Investment Partners LLC Acquires 23,396 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 195.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,354 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,396 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GLW. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after buying an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Corning by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,534,337,000 after buying an additional 1,242,718 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 215.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,677,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $75,740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,955 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 4,306.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,050,463 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $47,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,626 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 14,556.8% in the 3rd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 881,019 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $39,778,000 after purchasing an additional 875,008 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Corning Price Performance

NYSE:GLW opened at $52.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.39. The company has a market cap of $45.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 52-week low of $30.72 and a 52-week high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total value of $241,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,213. This trade represents a 42.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,345,436 over the last 90 days. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GLW. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.