Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 434,018 Shares of United Microelectronics Co. (NYSE:UMC)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics Co. (NYSE:UMC) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,868,813 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 434,018 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in United Microelectronics were worth $134,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UMC. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in United Microelectronics by 2,256.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,476,881 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,414,000 after buying an additional 3,329,354 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,860,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,671,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,301,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in United Microelectronics by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 4,435,239 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,522,000 after purchasing an additional 355,186 shares during the period. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

United Microelectronics stock opened at $8.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. United Microelectronics Co. has a one year low of $6.71 and a one year high of $9.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $8.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.13.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 24.79% and a return on equity of 15.60%. As a group, research analysts expect that United Microelectronics Co. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.356 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a dividend yield of 4.07%. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is 51.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on UMC shares. StockNews.com upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Japan, the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. It serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers.