Essex Financial Services Inc. Reduces Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,058 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 361 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of Corning by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 14,398 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 121,662 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,704,000 after buying an additional 25,408 shares during the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $200,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Corning by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 189,100 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,758,000 after acquiring an additional 68,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Corning by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 256,807 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $7,837,000 after acquiring an additional 15,283 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 29,978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.05, for a total value of $990,772.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,034,266.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 29,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.05, for a total value of $990,772.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,034,266.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Lawrence D. Mcrae sold 77,464 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.24, for a total value of $2,574,903.36. Following the transaction, 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 sold 119,988 shares of company stock valued at $3,984,964 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GLW. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Corning from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. HSBC cut shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Corning from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Corning in a report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.89.

Corning Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Corning stock opened at $33.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Corning Incorporated has a twelve month low of $25.26 and a twelve month high of $36.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.84 billion, a PE ratio of 47.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.61.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Corning had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 4.96%. The business’s revenue was down 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 157.75%.

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.