Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Trading Down 6.1% – Should You Sell?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)’s share price fell 6.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $144.84 and last traded at $147.80. 12,575,009 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 15,358,464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $186.54 and a 200 day moving average of $192.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $761.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.16.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 40.51% and a return on equity of 30.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 9.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a $0.6855 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s payout ratio is presently 30.68%.

Institutional Trading of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,365,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,047,065,000 after purchasing an additional 4,158,772 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 72.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,949,520 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,372,461,000 after buying an additional 2,931,209 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,547,257 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,562,498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572,488 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,498,063 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,678,283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,244,965 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,233,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944,328 shares during the period. 16.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile

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.