HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,132 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Universal Display were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Universal Display by 0.4% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,895,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $398,427,000 after acquiring an additional 7,435 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Display during the 2nd quarter valued at about $127,668,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 507,440 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $101,914,000 after purchasing an additional 108,394 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 27.3% during the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 424,078 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $89,162,000 after purchasing an additional 20,737 shares during the period. 78.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OLED. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Universal Display from $240.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Universal Display from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Universal Display from $242.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Display

In other news, Director Lawrence Lacerte acquired 742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $180.89 per share, with a total value of $134,220.38. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 122,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,135,871.08. This trade represents a 0.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Universal Display Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Universal Display stock opened at $159.12 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $180.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.22. The company has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.39. Universal Display Co. has a 52 week low of $148.75 and a 52 week high of $237.00.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $161.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.28 million. Universal Display had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 36.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Universal Display Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Display Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.