Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Sold by Manchester Financial Inc.

Manchester Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,313 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 19,482 shares during the period. Corning accounts for 0.4% of Manchester Financial Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Manchester Financial Inc.'s holdings in Corning were worth $1,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Corning by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Corning during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GLW. HSBC upgraded shares of Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Corning news, 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 transaction of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,345,436. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Corning Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of GLW stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $52.81. 3,409,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,684,950. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $45.22 billion, a PE ratio of 91.06, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $49.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.39.

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

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.11%.

About Corning

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.