Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 9,436 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 256,710 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 9,436 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Corning were worth $12,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GLW. Northstar Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Corning by 258.4% in the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $5,883,000 after purchasing an additional 89,268 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 62,514 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Corning by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 111,448 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $5,296,000 after acquiring an additional 16,001 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its stake 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 valued at $6,565,000 after acquiring an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Corning during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,110,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on GLW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $52.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.31.

Corning Trading Up 0.5 %

GLW traded up $0.22 on Friday, hitting $41.50. 4,976,031 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,941,917. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $30.91 and a 12 month high of $55.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.55 billion, a PE ratio of 71.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Corning's payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm's 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. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.