Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,199 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,405 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Corning were worth $6,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 115.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 887 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 77.1% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 905 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $55.37 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11. 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 $56.25.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. Corning had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is currently 215.38%.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In related news, SVP Soumya Seetharam sold 6,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.01, for a total value of $325,315.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,250,250. This represents a 20.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 16,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,692.56. This represents a 51.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,632,635 in the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GLW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Corning from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Corning in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corning presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.73.

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.