Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Sells 800 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. decreased its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,480 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Corning were worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Corning by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Corning by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GLW shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Corning has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Corning Price Performance

NYSE:GLW opened at $50.79 on Tuesday. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $30.72 and a 52 week high of $55.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.50 billion, a PE ratio of 87.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.86.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 EPS 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, equities analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s payout ratio is 193.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.