Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,578 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,354 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Corning during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Corning in the third quarter worth about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Corning by 232.9% in the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 932 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Corning during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Emfo LLC bought a new stake in Corning during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE GLW opened at $31.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.10, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.30 and its 200 day moving average is $30.41. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $25.26 and a 52 week high of $36.01.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.39. Corning had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Corning Incorporated will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 167.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Corning from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Corning from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. HSBC lowered Corning from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Corning in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Corning from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.78.

Insider Activity at Corning

In related news, Vice Chairman Lawrence D. Mcrae sold 77,464 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.24, for a total value of $2,574,903.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 215,254 shares in the company, valued at $7,155,042.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Corning 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.