Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 533,686 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,470,610 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 533,686 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.16% of Corning worth $875,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GLW. Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Corning by 258.4% during the 4th quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 89,268 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Corning by 48.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $8,975,000 after acquiring an additional 62,514 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake 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 worth $5,296,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its position in Corning by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 29,790 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Corning during the 4th quarter valued at $1,110,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:GLW opened at $46.59 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $49.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.03. Corning Incorporated has a 52-week low of $30.72 and a 52-week high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 insiders.

Corning Company 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.