Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Corning (NYSE:GLW)

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 67,678 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 385% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,955 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total value of $110,162.83. The sale 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 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 $7,940,852.48. This represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Corning by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 523 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $60.00 in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Corning Stock Up 2.8 %

GLW opened at $46.86 on Friday. Corning has a 1-year low of $30.72 and a 1-year high of $55.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.88 and a 200-day moving average of $47.47.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Corning will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

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

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.