IHT Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

IHT Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,988 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 2,559 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter worth about $490,933,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Corning by 139.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,900,808 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $186,186,000 after buying an additional 2,268,436 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Corning during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,522,000. Finally, Appaloosa LP bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,280,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE GLW opened at $44.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.58. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $31.28 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 193.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GLW. Barclays reduced their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Corning in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares in the company, valued at $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.