Appaloosa LP Takes Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Appaloosa LP bought a new stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,500,000 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $71,280,000. Corning comprises 1.1% of Appaloosa LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Appaloosa LP owned 0.18% of Corning at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. increased its position in Corning by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. now owns 1,443,969 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $68,617,000 after acquiring an additional 159,975 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its position in Corning by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 192,069 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $9,093,000 after acquiring an additional 15,538 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Corning by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 110,794 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,265,000 after acquiring an additional 9,610 shares during the period. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at about $394,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Corning by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 79,184 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,867 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Price Performance

GLW stock opened at $45.35 on Thursday. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.45. The firm has a market cap of $38.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.19, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued 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, sell-side analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% 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.