Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,853 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,559 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $5,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Corning by 258.4% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,883,000 after buying an additional 89,268 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Corning by 48.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 52.8% during the 3rd 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 period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings 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 worth $5,296,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 29,790 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $45.35 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33. The company has a market capitalization of $38.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.19, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.92 and a 200-day moving average of $47.45.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share 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 anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.