Northern Trust Corp Buys 150,636 Shares of United Microelectronics Corporation $UMC

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) by 4.7% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 150,636 shares for a total of approximately 3.34 million shares valued at $23.8 million.
• United Microelectronics reported earnings of $0.12 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $1.98 billion that significantly diverged from the expected $61.88 billion.
• The company declared an annual dividend of $0.3661 per share, reflecting a substantial increase from its previous dividend, leading to a remarkable 460% yield.

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,335,080 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 150,636 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.13% of United Microelectronics worth $23,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UMC. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in United Microelectronics by 3,091.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 14,329,393 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $92,998,000 after purchasing an additional 13,880,446 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 3.4% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 6,030,617 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $43,119,000 after buying an additional 196,262 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,288,513 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,362,000 after acquiring an additional 214,783 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,257,877 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,994,000 after acquiring an additional 94,858 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in United Microelectronics by 958.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 982,840 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,379,000 after acquiring an additional 889,972 shares during the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated 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 given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.40.

United Microelectronics Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of UMC traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $6.86. 2,118,342 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,167,427. The company has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. United Microelectronics Corporation has a 52 week low of $5.61 and a 52 week high of $8.86. The company's 50 day moving average is $7.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.14.

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

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were paid a dividend of $0.3661 per share. This is a boost from United Microelectronics's previous annual dividend of $0.36. This represents a dividend yield of 460.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. United Microelectronics's payout ratio is 75.51%.

United Microelectronics Company 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.