Hosking Partners LLP Trims Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Hosking Partners LLP lowered its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 462,601 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 72,069 shares during the period. Hosking Partners LLP owned approximately 0.05% of Corning worth $21,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Corning by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Corning by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of Corning stock opened at $48.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a PE ratio of 84.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $50.12 and a 200 day moving average of $47.03. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $30.72 and a 52 week high of $55.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on GLW. Barclays reduced their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Corning has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insider Activity at Corning

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 transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning 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. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.