Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Sold by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 278,401 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 70,324 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Corning were worth $13,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Corning by 258.4% during the fourth quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC now owns 123,808 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,883,000 after acquiring an additional 89,268 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 62,514 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 16,001 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Corning by 27.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth $1,110,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GLW shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $52.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.31.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 Stock Up 0.5 %

GLW traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.50. 4,976,031 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,941,917. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $46.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.65. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $30.91 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33. The stock has a market cap of $35.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given 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 was Friday, February 28th. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.