Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 42,501 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 780.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 47,949 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,501 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Corning were worth $2,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Corning by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Corning by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $1,557,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of Corning stock opened at $47.07 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $30.72 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33. The company has a market cap of $40.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.31.

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.