Westpac Banking Corp Sells 22,045 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW - Free Report) by 35.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,962 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 22,045 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Corning were worth $1,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth $490,933,000. Amundi grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,268,436 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $92,522,000. Appaloosa LP acquired a new stake in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter worth about $71,280,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Corning by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,534,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In related news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GLW shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.31.

Corning Stock Performance

Shares of GLW stock traded up $4.02 on Wednesday, reaching $43.20. The stock had a trading volume of 8,706,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,753. Corning Incorporated has a 12 month low of $30.72 and a 12 month high of $55.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day moving average is $47.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Corning Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Corning's dividend payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

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.