Verity & Verity LLC Has $31.57 Million Stock Holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Verity & Verity LLC boosted its holdings in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 664,274 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,793 shares during the period. Corning makes up 2.9% of Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Corning were worth $31,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. City Holding Co. lifted its position in Corning by 545.5% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 710 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Corning by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Corning in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Corning in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its position in Corning by 2,250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 940 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other Corning news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of Corning stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total transaction of $241,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,213. The trade was a 42.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total value of $435,722.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Corning from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Corning from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Corning in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.77.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GLW opened at $49.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.99. The company has a market cap of $42.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 293.12, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Corning Incorporated has a one year low of $29.82 and a one year high of $51.03.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 1.24%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Corning’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Corning Incorporated will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.