BlackRock Inc. Invests $373.93 Million in Universal Display Corporation $OLED

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 4.32 million shares of Universal Display worth approximately $373.9 million, giving it a 9.39% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 78.19% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment has weakened, with several firms cutting price targets or downgrading the stock. Universal Display has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $116.33.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations with $1.06 per share, but revenue fell 11.4% year over year to $152.16 million. Universal Display also declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend, representing a 2.2% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,318,409 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $373,931,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 9.39% of Universal Display as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OLED. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in Universal Display by 1.7% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in shares of Universal Display by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 10,390 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Certuity LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Display by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Universal Display by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,999 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Universal Display by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 13,979 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,008,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. 78.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on OLED shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Universal Display from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Universal Display from $100.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised Universal Display from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded Universal Display to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Display has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.33.

Universal Display Price Performance

Shares of Universal Display stock opened at $89.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64 and a beta of 1.54. The firm's 50-day moving average is $84.23 and its 200 day moving average is $93.29. Universal Display Corporation has a 1 year low of $76.42 and a 1 year high of $153.38.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $152.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.54 million. Universal Display had a net margin of 32.24% and a return on equity of 11.35%. Universal Display's revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Universal Display Corporation will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Display Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Universal Display's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.43%.

Universal Display Company Profile

Universal Display Corporation NASDAQ: OLED is a technology company specializing in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) solutions. The company develops and commercializes materials, technologies and software used in the creation of OLED displays and lighting. Its offerings include proprietary phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) materials, display driver integrated circuits and process technologies that enable higher efficiency, longer lifetimes and improved color performance for a range of display and lighting applications.

Universal Display's core business is licensing its extensive OLED patent portfolio to display manufacturers and providing them with the key organic materials needed for device fabrication.

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