Corning (NYSE:GLW) Cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Corning (NYSE:GLW) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $38.00 target price on the electronics maker’s stock, up from their prior target price of $35.00.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on GLW. Mizuho initiated coverage on Corning in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Corning from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised Corning from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Corning from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Corning currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $36.73.

Corning Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE GLW opened at $37.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.40 and its 200 day moving average is $32.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Corning has a 12 month low of $25.26 and a 12 month high of $38.31. The stock has a market cap of $31.91 billion, a PE ratio of 52.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Corning had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 4.96%. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Corning will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 157.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, VP Jeffrey W. Evenson sold 12,830 shares of Corning stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.39, for a total value of $479,713.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 57,280 shares in the company, valued at $2,141,699.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Jeffrey W. Evenson sold 12,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.39, for a total transaction of $479,713.70. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 57,280 shares in the company, valued at $2,141,699.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Lawrence D. Mcrae sold 77,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.24, for a total value of $2,574,903.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 215,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,155,042.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,671 shares of company stock worth $8,450,971 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corning

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GLW. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Corning in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Corning by 800.0% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 900 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Corning by 232.9% in the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 932 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Corning in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Corning in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

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.