Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Shares Down 0.6% – Should You Sell?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)’s stock price dropped 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $198.75 and last traded at $199.15. Approximately 2,430,894 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 14,982,360 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on TSM. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 17th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “buy” rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.63. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The semiconductor company reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.20. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 39.10% and a return on equity of 27.44%. The firm had revenue of $23.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.72 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.5484 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSM. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 55,974,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,721,138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783,802 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 669.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,721,489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $646,832,000 after buying an additional 3,237,998 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 1,226.7% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,983,830 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $344,809,000 after buying an additional 1,834,298 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 799.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,899,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $329,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687,886 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the third quarter valued at about $229,098,000. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others.