Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 375,811 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 17,526 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Corning were worth $17,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Corning by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Corning during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America increased 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. 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 research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.31.

Insider Activity at Corning

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Corning Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of GLW opened at $46.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a PE ratio of 80.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning Incorporated has a 12-month low of $30.72 and a 12-month high of $55.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.92 and its 200 day moving average is $47.87.

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

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

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.