Lazard Asset Management LLC Makes New $628,000 Investment in United Microelectronics Corporation $UMC

Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE:UMC) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 69,988 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in United Microelectronics by 3,854.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 168,648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 164,383 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 792,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,228,000 after purchasing an additional 95,871 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Microelectronics by 115.3% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 86,927 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 46,549 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Microelectronics by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 495,589 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 70,597 shares during the period. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Microelectronics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,779,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

United Microelectronics Stock Performance

UMC stock opened at $19.25 on Friday. United Microelectronics Corporation has a one year low of $6.56 and a one year high of $28.96. The firm has a market cap of $48.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.44.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.16 billion for the quarter. United Microelectronics had a net margin of 33.18% and a return on equity of 21.00%. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Microelectronics Corporation will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Microelectronics Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of United Microelectronics in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded United Microelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Microelectronics presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.60.

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.