Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Buys 37,705 Shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its stake in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 407,096 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,705 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Corning were worth $19,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Corning by 76.7% during 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 acquired a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of Corning by 202.4% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 747 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Corning in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Corning Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of GLW stock opened at $43.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $36.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.17, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. Corning Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $31.20 and a fifty-two week high of $55.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio is presently 193.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GLW. HSBC raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Corning from $62.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Corning from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.31.

Insider Activity at Corning

In related news, 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 value of $1,557,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 152,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,940,852.48. This trade represents a 16.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.87, for a total transaction of $110,162.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently 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.