Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) Shares Bought by Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,196 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $1,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GLW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Corning by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Corning by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 235,351 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $11,184,000 after purchasing an additional 43,703 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 58,162 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,764,000 after buying an additional 20,994 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Corning by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 521,929 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $24,727,000 after buying an additional 8,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Corning by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,464,171 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $69,577,000 after buying an additional 730,815 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Corning from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Corning from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Corning from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Corning from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Corning from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.92.

Corning Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $64.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $54.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.50. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $37.31 and a 1 year high of $64.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.37.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Corning had a net margin of 5.77% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Corning’s payout ratio is currently 119.15%.

Insider Activity at Corning

In related news, SVP Michael Paul O’day sold 14,879 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.36, for a total transaction of $927,854.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 35,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,228,933.48. This represents a 29.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the 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 directly owned 16,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $800,692.56. This trade represents a 51.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $7,836,789 over the last quarter. Company 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.