Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) shares dropped 0.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $204.55 and last traded at $206.33. Approximately 7,634,490 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 15,094,130 shares. The stock had previously closed at $207.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “buy” rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $194.84 and a 200 day moving average of $180.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s payout ratio is currently 35.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 26,418 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,588,000 after acquiring an additional 6,664 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council bought a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $613,000. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 67.1% during the third quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 8,360 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 54.4% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 647,304 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $112,417,000 after purchasing an additional 228,155 shares in the last quarter. 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.