Socha Financial Group LLC Purchases 7,264 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Socha Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 59,962 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,264 shares during the quarter. Corning accounts for about 1.3% of Socha Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Socha Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $2,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Corning by 258.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $8,975,000 after purchasing an additional 62,514 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 52.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $168,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Corning by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,296,000 after buying an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $53.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.52, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $30.72 and a one year high of $55.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.83.

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

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total value of $435,722.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,085 shares of company stock worth $2,345,436. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on GLW. StockNews.com raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

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.