AGP Franklin LLC Trims Holdings in Corning Incorporated $GLW

AGP Franklin LLC lowered its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 26.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,689 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 14,681 shares during the period. Corning makes up approximately 1.6% of AGP Franklin LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. AGP Franklin LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the 2nd quarter valued at $534,936,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Corning by 748.0% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,169,741 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $260,014,000 after buying an additional 2,795,948 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Corning by 93.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,407,608 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $179,206,000 after buying an additional 1,641,558 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Corning by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,952,109 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,151,301,000 after buying an additional 1,582,895 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Corning by 125.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,683,497 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $220,127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495,277 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLW has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Corning in a report on Friday, November 21st. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $68.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Mizuho set a $97.00 target price on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Corning from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $130.00 target price on Corning and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Corning currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Edward A. Schlesinger sold 20,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.25, for a total transaction of $1,906,486.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 66,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,110,008.75. The trade was a 23.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lewis A. Steverson sold 23,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.05, for a total transaction of $2,060,795.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,565,053.75. This trade represents a 56.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 15.5%

GLW stock opened at $109.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.03 billion, a PE ratio of 69.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.50 and a 200-day moving average of $79.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $37.31 and a one year high of $113.99.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The electronics maker reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. Corning had a net margin of 9.16% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

About Corning

Corning Incorporated is a global manufacturer specializing in specialty glass, ceramics and related materials and technologies. Headquartered in Corning, New York, the company supplies engineered materials and components used across multiple industries, including consumer electronics, telecommunications, automotive emissions control, pharmaceutical and life sciences, and industrial and scientific applications. Corning emphasizes materials science and precision manufacturing to develop durable, high-performance glass and ceramic products.

Key product lines include specialty display glass used by television and mobile-device manufacturers, cover glass marketed under well-known trade names for smartphones and tablets, and optical fiber and cable and related hardware for telecommunications networks.