United Microelectronics Corporation $UMC Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Key Points

• Summit Global Investments cut its United Microelectronics stake by 41.2% in the first quarter, selling 107,528 shares and ending with 153,593 shares worth about $1.38 million.
• Analysts remain bearish on UMC, with a consensus rating of Strong Sell and a price target of $8.60; the latest moves included one downgrade to hold and multiple sell ratings.
• United Microelectronics beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.20 per share versus the $0.12 estimate, and it also raised its annual dividend to $0.4122 per share from $0.37.

Summit Global Investments trimmed its position in United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC - Free Report) by 41.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 153,593 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 107,528 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments' holdings in United Microelectronics were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in United Microelectronics by 1,794.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 62,656 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 59,349 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Microelectronics by 10.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,655,721 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $40,438,000 after buying an additional 537,777 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in United Microelectronics by 25.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 29,408 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 6,028 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in United Microelectronics during the second quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in United Microelectronics by 37.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,735 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the period. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Microelectronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus price target of $8.60.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UMC opened at $20.30 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $22.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.44. The company has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.72. United Microelectronics Corporation has a one year low of $6.56 and a one year high of $28.96.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.08. United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 20.71%.The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.4122 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 8th. This is an increase from United Microelectronics's previous annual dividend of $0.37. This represents a dividend yield of 166.0%. United Microelectronics's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.23%.

About United Microelectronics

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related manufacturing services to a global customer base. Founded in 1980, the company operates as a pure-play foundry, producing integrated circuits for a range of customers including fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers. UMC is publicly listed NYSE: UMC and focuses on high-reliability manufacturing rather than branding consumer products.

UMC's core services encompass wafer fabrication using a portfolio of process technologies, with particular emphasis on mature and specialty nodes that support analog, power-management, radio-frequency (RF), and mixed-signal applications.

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