Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Shares Up 2.7% – Time to Buy?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) shares rose 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $186.66 and last traded at $186.07. Approximately 4,147,648 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 15,245,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $181.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $188.95 and its 200 day moving average is $174.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 2.57. The stock has a market cap of $960.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.12.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The semiconductor company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.20. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 27.44% and a net margin of 39.10%. The business had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.72 billion. Analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.5484 per share. This is a positive change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s payout ratio is 31.57%.

Institutional Trading of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 116.3% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,784,316 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,352,992,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186,133 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 55,974,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,721,138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,783,802 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 669.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,721,489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $646,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,237,998 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 1,226.7% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,983,830 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $344,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 799.2% in the third 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 valued at $329,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687,886 shares during the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.