Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:TSM)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 284,689 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 94% compared to the average volume of 146,818 call options.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Trading Up 4.1 %

NYSE:TSM traded up $8.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $215.38. The stock had a trading volume of 29,314,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,081,182. The company has a quick ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $197.26 and a 200 day moving average of $183.79. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has a one year low of $100.00 and a one year high of $222.20.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last released its quarterly 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 39.10% and a return on equity of 27.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.5484 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This is a positive change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

Institutional Trading of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WealthPLAN Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the second quarter valued at about $250,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 55.6% in the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 3,991 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance raised its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 16,976 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after acquiring an additional 4,080 shares during the last quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd lifted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 318.6% in the 2nd quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd now owns 120,768 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $20,991,000 after purchasing an additional 91,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 37.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 185,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,155,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TSM shares. Susquehanna reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.00.

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.