Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys Shares of 309,800 Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 309,800 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $14,722,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Corning by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in Corning by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Corning during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In related news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE GLW traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.50. The stock had a trading volume of 4,976,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,936,785. Corning Incorporated has a 52-week low of $30.72 and a 52-week high of $55.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $35.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.63 and a 200 day moving average of $47.67.

Corning (NYSE:GLW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Corning's dividend payout ratio is currently 193.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GLW shares. Barclays cut their price target on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho set a $52.00 price target on shares of Corning in a report on Tuesday. HSBC upgraded shares of Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Corning has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.31.

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.