Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $206.80, but opened at $218.89. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shares last traded at $216.13, with a volume of 12,944,739 shares changing hands.

The semiconductor company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 39.10% and a return on equity of 27.44%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.5484 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s payout ratio is presently 35.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TSM. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 55,974,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,721,138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,783,802 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 1.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,767,106 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,995,984,000 after buying an additional 359,854 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,289,993 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,176,423,000 after buying an additional 122,828 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 14.1% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 9,738,181 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,733,104,000 after buying an additional 1,206,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,485,854 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,126,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,425 shares during the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Trading Up 4.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $197.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. 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 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.