First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Trims Stake in United Microelectronics Co. (NYSE:UMC)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics Co. (NYSE:UMC) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 18,261 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in United Microelectronics were worth $1,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Microelectronics by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,868,813 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $134,250,000 after buying an additional 434,018 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 4,435,239 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,522,000 after purchasing an additional 355,186 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 2,256.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,476,881 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,354 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,860,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of United Microelectronics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,671,000. 5.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Microelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UMC traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $8.34. 13,247,318 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,762,158. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $8.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.12. United Microelectronics Co. has a one year low of $6.71 and a one year high of $9.00. The stock has a market cap of $20.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.01). United Microelectronics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 24.79%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. As a group, analysts predict that United Microelectronics Co. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

United Microelectronics Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.356 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a dividend yield of 4.07%. United Microelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is 51.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on UMC. Citigroup upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th.

United Microelectronics Company Profile

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