Nomura Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in United Microelectronics Corporation $UMC

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) by 360.1% during the first quarter, owning approximately 1,536,660 shares worth about $10.99 million.
• Despite this boost in holdings, Goldman Sachs maintained a "sell" rating on UMC, with analysts suggesting a consensus target price of $7.40.
• United Microelectronics recently announced an annual dividend of $0.3661, which represents a significant yield of 460.0%, up from the previous dividend of $0.36.

Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Free Report) by 360.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,536,660 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,202,660 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned 0.06% of United Microelectronics worth $10,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $242,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in United Microelectronics by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,513 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,362,000 after acquiring an additional 214,783 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in United Microelectronics by 262.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,108 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 8,772 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in United Microelectronics by 238.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,184,444 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $20,667,000 after acquiring an additional 2,244,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company's stock.

United Microelectronics Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE UMC traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,751,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,105,749. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $7.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.14. United Microelectronics Corporation has a twelve month low of $5.61 and a twelve month high of $8.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.06.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $61.88 billion. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 11.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Profile

United Microelectronics Corporation operates as a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, 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.