Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 12,200 Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $2,333,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Universal Display in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Universal Display in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in Universal Display in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Universal Display during the 1st quarter worth approximately $93,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Universal Display by 22.5% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 593 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 78.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Display Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OLED traded down $2.06 on Wednesday, hitting $151.97. The stock had a trading volume of 265,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 283,660. Universal Display Co. has a 1 year low of $125.98 and a 1 year high of $194.84. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $169.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.29. The stock has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.45.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $158.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.08 million. Universal Display had a return on equity of 14.85% and a net margin of 35.22%. Universal Display's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Universal Display Co. will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Universal Display Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is a boost from Universal Display's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Universal Display's payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on OLED. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 target price (up from $161.00) on shares of Universal Display in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $210.00) on shares of Universal Display in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $198.00 target price on shares of Universal Display in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Universal Display from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, TheStreet raised Universal Display from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Display has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.86.

Universal Display Profile

Universal Display Corporation engages in the research, development, and commercialization of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies and materials for use in display and solid-state lighting applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers PHOLED technologies and materials for displays and lighting products under the UniversalPHOLED brand.