Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Trading Down 6.3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) were down 6.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $159.04 and last traded at $159.58. Approximately 9,934,319 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 15,271,914 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Down 7.6 %

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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $816.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.16.

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 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a $0.6855 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 258.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 17,606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,059,000 after buying an additional 12,695 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 83.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 12,250 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,127,000 after purchasing an additional 5,579 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,057 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,264,000 after buying an additional 4,336 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 120.7% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,703 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after buying an additional 9,683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.51% of the company’s stock.

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.