Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Buys Shares of 80,557 Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 80,557 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Corning by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,903,247 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $4,747,402,000 after purchasing an additional 916,528 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Corning by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,470,610 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $875,633,000 after purchasing an additional 533,686 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Corning by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,870,375 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $516,560,000 after purchasing an additional 208,826 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Corning in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $490,933,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Corning by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,800,573 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $465,723,000 after purchasing an additional 78,497 shares in the last quarter. 69.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Corning Price Performance

Shares of GLW opened at $49.54 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $37.05 and a 12 month high of $55.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.77. The company has a market cap of $42.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.42, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.11.

Corning (NYSE:GLW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. Corning had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 3.86%. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Corning Incorporated will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Corning Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Corning’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 215.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Corning from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Corning from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho set a $52.00 price target on Corning in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Corning from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Corning from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Stefan Becker sold 17,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.68, for a total value of $849,826.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,117 shares in the company, valued at $800,692.56. This represents a 51.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael Alan Bell sold 20,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $892,743.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 75,796 shares of company stock worth $3,632,635. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.