Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Holdings in Universal Display Corporation $OLED

Key Points

• Van ECK raised its stake in Universal Display by 5.2% in Q3 to 497,147 shares (about 1.05% of the company, worth ~$71.4M), as institutional ownership sits at 78.19% and other funds (e.g., Russell Investments, Korea Investment, Swiss National Bank) also increased positions.
• Universal Display beat quarterly EPS estimates with $1.39 EPS vs. $1.28 est., posted revenue of $172.9M (up 6.5% YoY) and a 37.2% net margin, while analysts project ~4.71 EPS for the fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 (annualized $2.00, yield ~2.1%, ex-dividend Mar 17), and the stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with a $151.67 price target.

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED - Free Report) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 497,147 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 24,598 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 1.05% of Universal Display worth $71,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Display in the 3rd quarter valued at $296,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Universal Display by 1.6% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 87,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $12,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Universal Display by 171.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 50,631 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,272,000 after purchasing an additional 31,957 shares in the last quarter. AI Squared Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Display during the third quarter valued at about $5,515,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of Universal Display by 75.6% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 21,580 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,100,000 after buying an additional 9,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.19% of the company's stock.

Universal Display Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ:OLED opened at $96.65 on Wednesday. Universal Display Corporation has a twelve month low of $93.50 and a twelve month high of $163.21. The company has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 1.65. The company's 50 day moving average is $116.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.09.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.11. Universal Display had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The business had revenue of $172.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $173.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Universal Display Corporation will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Display Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Universal Display's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Universal Display's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OLED. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Universal Display from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Universal Display from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Universal Display in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Universal Display from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.67.

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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