Brandes Investment Partners LP Reduces Stock Position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)

Brandes Investment Partners LP cut its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 222,608 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 63,277 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $43,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Archer Investment Corp grew its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 48.1% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 191 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 16.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays increased 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE TSM opened at $174.16 on Friday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a 1 year low of $125.78 and a 1 year high of $226.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $199.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.72. The firm has a market cap of $903.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 2.57.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a $0.6855 dividend. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. 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%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing 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.