Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Purchases 69,000 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 719,921 shares of the electronics maker's stock after acquiring an additional 69,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.08% of Corning worth $34,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Corning by 258.4% during the 4th quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $5,883,000 after buying an additional 89,268 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Corning by 48.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $8,975,000 after acquiring an additional 62,514 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Corning by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,296,000 after buying an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its position in Corning by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $1,110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 152,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Corning Price Performance

GLW stock traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $44.18. 3,767,555 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,986,210. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.45 and a 200-day moving average of $47.60. The firm has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a PE ratio of 76.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning Incorporated has a twelve month low of $31.37 and a twelve month high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a net margin of 3.86% and a return on equity of 15.10%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Mizuho set a $52.00 target price on Corning in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $53.31.

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.