Sterling Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Universal Display Corporation $OLED

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) by 67.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 61,297 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Universal Display were worth $2,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Universal Display during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,173,000. Apella Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Display by 128.8% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Universal Display by 27.8% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 34,168 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,132,000 after purchasing an additional 7,424 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Universal Display during the first quarter valued at approximately $683,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Universal Display by 890.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 38,091 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,489,000 after purchasing an additional 34,247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OLED has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Universal Display from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Universal Display in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Universal Display from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Roth Mkm set a $168.00 price target on Universal Display in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Universal Display in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.60.

Universal Display Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OLED opened at $87.16 on Monday. Universal Display Corporation has a one year low of $83.64 and a one year high of $162.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.54.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.37). Universal Display had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 34.08%.The business had revenue of $142.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Universal Display Corporation will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Display Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Universal Display’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.64%.

Universal Display Company Profile

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED) is a technology company specializing in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) solutions. The company develops and commercializes materials, technologies and software used in the creation of OLED displays and lighting. Its offerings include proprietary phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) materials, display driver integrated circuits and process technologies that enable higher efficiency, longer lifetimes and improved color performance for a range of display and lighting applications.

Universal Display’s core business is licensing its extensive OLED patent portfolio to display manufacturers and providing them with the key organic materials needed for device fabrication.