Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 343.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 114,330 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 88,558 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Corning were worth $5,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Buffington Mohr McNeal boosted its stake in Corning by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 10,461 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Corning by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,444 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,816 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $3,128,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Corning by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,858 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Corning Stock Down 0.8 %

Corning stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.46. The stock had a trading volume of 4,700,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,520,969. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.61. Corning Incorporated has a 12 month low of $30.72 and a 12 month 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 company has a market capitalization of $44.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.72, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 2.18%. Corning's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Corning from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (up from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. Insiders have sold a total of 41,085 shares of company stock worth $2,103,486 over the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.