AGP Franklin LLC Acquires New Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

AGP Franklin LLC bought a new position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 51,198 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,433,000. Corning accounts for about 1.5% of AGP Franklin LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth $627,000. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning during the 4th quarter worth $305,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Corning by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 8,469 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Corning by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,182 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its position in Corning by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 3,869,358 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $183,867,000 after buying an additional 2,215,840 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Corning from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. HSBC upgraded Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corning has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.31.

Corning Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE GLW traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.50. 4,976,031 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,936,785. Corning Incorporated has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.55 billion, a PE ratio of 71.55, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $46.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Corning's dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Corning 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.