Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in United Microelectronics Co. (NYSE:UMC)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of United Microelectronics Co. (NYSE:UMC) by 81.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,335 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the quarter. United Microelectronics comprises 5.2% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in United Microelectronics were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in United Microelectronics by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 28,916 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 8,176 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Microelectronics by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,947,754 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $103,501,000 after acquiring an additional 750,472 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in United Microelectronics by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 61,852 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in United Microelectronics in the 4th quarter worth about $1,041,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in United Microelectronics by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 57,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

United Microelectronics Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE UMC opened at $6.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.33 and its 200 day moving average is $6.97. United Microelectronics Co. has a 52 week low of $5.61 and a 52 week high of $9.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.19.

United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The semiconductor company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.03). United Microelectronics had a net margin of 20.35% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.30 earnings per share. United Microelectronics’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Microelectronics Co. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Citigroup upgraded shares of United Microelectronics from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.40.

About United Microelectronics

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.