Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 890,981 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 12,451 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Corning worth $40,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 25.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 22,826 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 4,588 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 35.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,431 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 5,081 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Corning by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,161 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Corning by 3.0% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 384,442 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $12,671,000 after buying an additional 11,298 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Corning by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 9,984 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Corning in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Corning from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.08.

Corning Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE GLW traded down $0.58 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.34. 2,794,533 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,690,938. The company has a market capitalization of $41.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 287.76, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning Incorporated has a 12 month low of $27.41 and a 12 month high of $51.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.72 billion. Corning had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 658.82%.

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.