Candriam S.C.A. Cuts Position in Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED)

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 247,048 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 10,450 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.52% of Universal Display worth $35,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OLED. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 0.8% in the first quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 9,915 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,083 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 0.9% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 10,139 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 0.8% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,528 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,254,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Universal Display by 0.7% during the first quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 18,986 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OLED has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Universal Display from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Universal Display from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Universal Display from $150.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Universal Display from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Universal Display in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Display presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard C. Elias sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.68, for a total transaction of $315,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $909,340.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Universal Display Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OLED opened at $157.39 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.11. Universal Display Co. has a one year low of $89.41 and a one year high of $166.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.29.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The semiconductor company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.29. Universal Display had a net margin of 34.31% and a return on equity of 16.24%. The business had revenue of $146.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Universal Display Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Display Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.18%.

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. The company offers PHOLED technologies and materials for displays and lighting products under the UniversalPHOLED brand.