Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 23,781 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,300,954 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,781 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.15% of Corning worth $59,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GLW. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at about $490,933,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new stake in Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $124,253,000. Amundi raised its position in Corning by 139.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,900,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $186,186,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268,436 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its position in Corning by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 3,869,358 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $183,867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,215,840 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Corning in the 4th quarter worth about $92,522,000. Institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 20,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $892,743.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.68, for a total transaction of $849,826.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,692.56. This trade represents a 51.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,796 shares of company stock worth $3,632,635 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Performance

Shares of GLW stock opened at $50.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $43.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.98, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $46.89 and its 200 day moving average is $47.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Corning Incorporated has a 52-week low of $37.18 and a 52-week high of $55.33.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. Corning had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Corning’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Corning’s payout ratio is 215.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Corning from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Corning has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.75.

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.