Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Stock Falls 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) traded down 1.5% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $391.50 and last traded at $399.5020. 10,644,705 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 13,224,182 shares. The stock had previously closed at $405.49.

Key Headlines Impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

These are some of the TSM headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: The company announced an approximately 41% year-over-year increase in its ADS dividend, to about $1.37 per ADS. The higher payout signals confidence alongside strong sales, though withholding taxes reduce what some investors receive. Article: Taiwan Semiconductor and Two Other AI Infrastructure Leaders Are Boosting Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: NVIDIA’s reported leadership upheaval could encourage cloud companies to diversify chip suppliers, potentially benefiting TSMC as a manufacturer for NVIDIA and other chip designers. However, the uncertainty has rattled semiconductor stocks, and investors are watching NVIDIA’s November 17 results for clues about AI demand. Article: Checkmate for AI Chips? NVIDIA’s Crisis Opens the Board
• Negative Sentiment: Potentially tighter export controls and wider AI-chip sector volatility could complicate overseas deployments and add compliance costs. These risks appear to be offsetting some of the optimism from TSMC’s record sales. Article: Checkmate for AI Chips? NVIDIA’s Crisis Opens the Board

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $665.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $554.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $533.89.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Down 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $430.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $402.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.44.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.15. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 51.51% and a return on equity of 42.84%. The company had revenue of $46.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.92 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 17.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 11th will be issued a $1.3663 dividend. This represents a $5.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.0854. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 11th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.27%.

Insider Transactions at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

In other news, VP Lipen Yuan acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, November 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $71,490.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $571,920. This represents a 14.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Splinter bought 840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $357.00 per share, for a total transaction of $299,880.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,000,585. The trade was a 11.10% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 7,869 shares of company stock worth $823,771. Corporate insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 87.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 25,143 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,008,000 after acquiring an additional 11,719 shares during the last quarter. Opal Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Opal Capital LLC now owns 27,767 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,384,000 after acquiring an additional 11,666 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,954 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,447,000 after acquiring an additional 6,013 shares during the last quarter. MRA Advisory Group bought a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $704,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,129,000. 16.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is a semiconductor foundry that manufactures chips designed by other companies. It provides wafer fabrication and related services, including advanced packaging, serving customers across industries such as computing, communications, automotive and consumer electronics. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, TSMC helped establish the dedicated foundry model, in which a manufacturer focuses on producing semiconductors for customers rather than selling its own chip designs.