Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Acquires 33,606 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 161.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,444 shares of the electronics maker's stock after buying an additional 33,606 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Corning were worth $2,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Corning in the 4th quarter valued at $490,933,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 139.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,900,808 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $186,186,000 after buying an additional 2,268,436 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 3,869,358 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $183,867,000 after buying an additional 2,215,840 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth about $92,522,000. Finally, Appaloosa LP acquired a new stake in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $71,280,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. HSBC raised shares of Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $52.00 price target on shares of Corning in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Corning has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.31.

Corning Stock Performance

Shares of GLW traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.18. The stock had a trading volume of 3,767,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,968,227. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.17, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $31.20 and a 52 week high of $55.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.58.

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

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued 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 2.54%. Corning's payout ratio is 193.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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.