Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 17,526 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 4.5% in the 4th 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 period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Corning were worth $17,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Corning by 258.4% during the 4th quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 89,268 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Corning by 48.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $8,975,000 after purchasing an additional 62,514 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Corning by 52.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Corning by 27.5% in 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 during the period. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GLW. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four 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.com, Corning has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.31.

Corning Price Performance

GLW opened at $46.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.87. The firm has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.35, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued 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, analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. 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.