Townsquare Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 167,293 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,680 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $7,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GLW. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Corning by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,892,946 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $85,468,000 after buying an additional 148,042 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Corning by 9.7% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 289,853 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $13,087,000 after acquiring an additional 25,590 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Corning by 3.8% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 165,246 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $7,461,000 after acquiring an additional 6,040 shares during the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Corning during the third quarter valued at about $1,631,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Corning by 26.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 124,564 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,044,000 after purchasing an additional 25,829 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Performance

Corning stock opened at $41.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $35.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.57 and a 200-day moving average of $47.78.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup boosted 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. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.