United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) Shares Purchased by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Free Report) by 32.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,823 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 38,299 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in United Microelectronics were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UMC. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in United Microelectronics by 238.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,184,444 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $20,667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244,574 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,768,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in United Microelectronics by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,021,849 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $6,379,000 after purchasing an additional 889,972 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

NYSE UMC traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $7.51. 775,474 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,609,931. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. United Microelectronics Corporation has a 1-year low of $5.61 and a 1-year high of $8.95. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $7.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.14.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). United Microelectronics had a net margin of 18.97% and a return on equity of 12.10%. The business had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 24th will be paid a $0.3661 dividend. This is a boost from United Microelectronics's previous annual dividend of $0.36. This represents a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 24th. United Microelectronics's payout ratio is currently 68.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on UMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush cut shares of United Microelectronics from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Microelectronics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.