Blue Trust Inc. Sells 5,666 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 27.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,889 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 5,666 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Corning were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Corning by 258.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Corning by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,648 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $8,975,000 after purchasing an additional 62,514 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $168,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Corning by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $5,296,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Corning by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 138,153 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $6,565,000 after buying an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,345,436 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HSBC raised Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.00.

Corning Stock Performance

Corning stock traded down $0.81 on Thursday, hitting $51.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,069,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,567,429. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.58. The firm has a market cap of $44.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $30.72 and a one year 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.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 EPS 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, equities analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Corning's dividend payout ratio is 193.10%.

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.