ARS Investment Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED)

ARS Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,230 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Universal Display were worth $326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 3.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,365 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 27.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 469,570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $98,725,000 after purchasing an additional 100,809 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 55.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 40,439 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,502,000 after purchasing an additional 14,400 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 131.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,267 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 3.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,344 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Universal Display from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen cut their price target on Universal Display from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Universal Display in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Display has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.50.

Insider Activity at Universal Display

In related news, Director Lawrence Lacerte bought 742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $180.89 per share, for a total transaction of $134,220.38. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 122,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,135,871.08. This trade represents a 0.61 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Universal Display Stock Up 1.4 %

OLED opened at $149.24 on Tuesday. Universal Display Co. has a 52 week low of $143.25 and a 52 week high of $237.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.36. The firm has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.40.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. Universal Display had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 36.98%. The business had revenue of $161.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.28 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Universal Display Co. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Display Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.13%.

About Universal Display

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.