Versant Capital Management Inc Increases Stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) by 140.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,033 shares of the electronics maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Corning were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLW. City Holding Co. boosted its holdings in Corning by 545.5% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 710 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corning during the third quarter worth $39,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corning during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Corning by 2,250.0% in the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 940 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Corning in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 69.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Corning

In other news, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 8,876 shares of Corning stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.09, for a total transaction of $435,722.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John P. Bayne, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.39, for a total value of $241,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $324,213. The trade was a 42.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLW has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Corning from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Corning from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Corning from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised Corning from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Corning from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.77.

Corning Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE GLW opened at $47.50 on Friday. Corning Incorporated has a 52 week low of $29.71 and a 52 week high of $51.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $40.67 billion, a PE ratio of 279.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.04.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. Corning had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 1.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 1.95 EPS 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.