Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 54.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,172,566 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 413,529 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.14% of Corning worth $55,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 62,514 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Corning by 16.8% in the 4th 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. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 0.8 %

GLW opened at $45.89 on Friday. Corning Incorporated has a 12 month low of $30.72 and a 12 month high of $55.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.28. The company has a market cap of $39.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. On average, equities analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 yield of 2.44%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on GLW shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 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.