Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Time to Sell?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $166.35 and last traded at $168.34. 1,784,308 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 15,234,800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TSM shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.64. The firm has a market cap of $884.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.13. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 30.47% and a net margin of 40.51%. As a group, analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a $0.6855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSM. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 258.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 17,606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,059,000 after purchasing an additional 12,695 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 83.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 12,250 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighVista Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,789,000. Institutional investors own 16.51% of the company’s stock.

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.