Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New $9 Million Investment in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 189,315 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $8,996,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GLW. FMR LLC boosted its position in Corning by 52.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,723,044 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $168,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,836 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Corning by 3.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,983,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,534,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242,718 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Corning by 218.5% in the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 1,009,208 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $47,958,000 after purchasing an additional 692,366 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Corning by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,312,541 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $109,892,000 after purchasing an additional 635,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Corning by 223.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 856,878 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $40,719,000 after purchasing an additional 592,187 shares during the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value 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 approximately $7,940,852.48. The trade was a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Corning Stock Performance

NYSE:GLW opened at $46.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Corning Incorporated has a 1 year low of $30.72 and a 1 year high of $55.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.47. The company has a market cap of $40.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.79, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 193.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

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.