United Microelectronics Corporation $UMC Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group reduced its UMC stake by 58.8% in the second quarter, selling 250,340 shares and retaining 175,563 shares valued at approximately $4.8 million.
• UMC reported quarterly revenue of $2.16 billion and EPS of $0.53, while raising its annual dividend to $0.4122 per share. Institutional investors and hedge funds own about 5.05% of the company.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed, with several upgrades to Buy or Strong Buy offset by Sell ratings; MarketBeat’s consensus rating is Hold, with a $8.60 price target.

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Free Report) by 58.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,563 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 250,340 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in United Microelectronics were worth $4,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of United Microelectronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,525,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 43.0% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,541 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 10,391 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $249,000. MW Advisory LLC purchased a new position in United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $481,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Microelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $315,000. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

United Microelectronics stock opened at $21.61 on Wednesday. United Microelectronics Corporation has a 52-week low of $6.82 and a 52-week high of $28.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.41 and a 200-day moving average of $17.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 21.00% and a net margin of 33.18%.The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th were issued a $0.4122 dividend. This is a positive change from United Microelectronics's previous annual dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. United Microelectronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Microelectronics from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Arete Research upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

United Microelectronics Corporation NYSE: UMC is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that manufactures integrated circuits for customers that design and market their own chips. The company provides wafer fabrication services rather than selling semiconductor products under its own consumer brand.

UMC supports a broad range of applications, including communications, automotive systems, industrial equipment, consumer electronics and computing. Its manufacturing portfolio includes logic and mixed-signal technologies, radio-frequency processes, embedded high-voltage solutions, display-driver chips, image sensors and other specialty semiconductor technologies.

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