Corning (NYSE:GLW) Given New $48.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Corning (NYSE:GLW) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GLW. UBS Group boosted their price target on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.77.

Corning Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Corning stock opened at $47.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning has a 12-month low of $29.71 and a 12-month high of $51.03. The company has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 276.82, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.67.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. Corning had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Corning will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 658.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total transaction of $435,722.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total value of $241,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,700 shares in the company, valued at $324,213. The trade was a 42.74 % 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 insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Corning by 0.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 39,225,452 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,771,029,000 after buying an additional 133,214 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Corning by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,534,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242,718 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Corning by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,342,949 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $401,826,000 after acquiring an additional 426,864 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,853,076 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $219,116,000 after purchasing an additional 38,168 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $168,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

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.