Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Universal Display Co. (NASDAQ:OLED) by 627.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,583 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.17% of Universal Display worth $11,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Display by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 799,352 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $167,825,000 after acquiring an additional 15,015 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Universal Display in the second quarter valued at about $127,668,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Universal Display by 27.2% in the third 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Universal Display by 27.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 469,570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $98,725,000 after purchasing an additional 100,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Universal Display by 46.0% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 365,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $76,614,000 after buying an additional 115,000 shares during the last quarter. 78.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Display

In related news, Director Lawrence Lacerte purchased 742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was bought 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 $22,135,871.08. The trade was a 0.61 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Universal Display from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective 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 restated a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Universal Display in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.86.

Universal Display Price Performance

Shares of OLED stock opened at $149.24 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $157.11 and a 200 day moving average of $186.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.40. Universal Display Co. has a 1 year low of $143.25 and a 1 year high of $237.00.

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

Universal Display Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.13%.

Universal Display Company 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.