Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,497 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,842 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after selling 1,497 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Corning were worth $7,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GLW. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in Corning by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Corning during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Corning in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Corning in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of GLW opened at $52.99 on Monday. 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 has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a PE ratio of 91.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.94.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Corning presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Insider Activity at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total transaction of $435,722.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Eric S. Musser sold 30,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,345,436 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

About Corning

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.