Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Stock Falls 1.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) traded down 1.8% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $393.91 and last traded at $405.8460. Approximately 11,294,589 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 13,235,677 shares. The stock had previously closed at $413.35.

Key Headlines Impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Here are a few of the latest headlines about TSM:

• Positive Sentiment: TSMC reported record October revenue of NT$586.89 billion, up 59.7% year over year. The result points to continued demand for chip manufacturing despite worries about the AI sector. TSMC Stocks Fall as NVIDIA Shake-Up Overshadows Record October Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that NVIDIA’s leadership turmoil is weighing on semiconductor shares have contributed to sector-wide concern, despite TSMC’s strong sales update. NVIDIA Shake-Up Overshadows TSMC Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: TSMC said unauthorized access exposed personal data belonging to some current and former employees. The incident may raise security and reputational concerns, though the reports do not indicate that production was affected. TSMC Reports Unauthorized Access to Employee Personal Data

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TSM. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $554.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $665.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $533.89.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $430.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $401.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.25.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $46.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.67 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 51.51% and a return on equity of 42.84%. The company’s revenue was up 41.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.92 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 17.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 11th will be issued a $1.3663 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 11th. This represents a $5.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.0854. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s payout ratio is currently 22.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael R. Splinter acquired 840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,000,585. The trade was a 11.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Lipen Yuan acquired 1,000 shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock in a transaction dated Sunday, November 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $71,490.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,920. This trade represents a 14.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 7,869 shares of company stock worth $823,771. Insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooper Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.3% during the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 6,313 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,880,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.7% during the third quarter. Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. now owns 3,459 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,578,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Whelan Financial increased its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 2.3% during the third quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 1,040 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Plan A Wealth LLC raised its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Graves Light Lenhart Wealth Inc. now owns 752 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile

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.