Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 133,833 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 752.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,610 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 133,833 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $7,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northstar Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Corning by 258.4% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after buying an additional 89,268 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 62,514 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Corning by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,296,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $6,565,000 after purchasing an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GLW. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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. Finally, HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total value of $435,722.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total transaction of $241,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,700 shares in the company, valued at $324,213. This 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 worth $2,345,436 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 0.1 %

Corning stock opened at $53.02 on Tuesday. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $30.72 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.39 billion, a PE ratio of 91.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.22 and its 200-day moving average is $45.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.