Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. $TSM Shares Sold by Explore Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Explore Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 33% in the fourth quarter, selling 20,500 shares and leaving it with 41,532 shares worth about $12.6 million.
• Despite that sale, institutional interest remains significant: hedge funds and other institutions own 16.51% of TSMC, and several firms recently added to or initiated positions in the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on TSMC, with an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $404.29, while the company also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.1136 per share.

Explore Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM - Free Report) by 33.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,532 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 20,500 shares during the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing accounts for about 10.5% of Explore Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Explore Capital Management LLC's holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $12,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shannon River Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,430,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $961,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 65,974 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $20,049,000 after buying an additional 14,406 shares during the period. Boyer Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $648,000. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,355 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,323,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TSM shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $410.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $404.29.

Key Headlines Impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Here are the key news stories impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing this week:

• Positive Sentiment: At its annual shareholders’ meeting, CEO C.C. Wei said TSMC expects strong growth over the next few years as AI demand for advanced semiconductors remains robust, and he suggested the company would like to raise chip prices to protect margins. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst and market commentary pieces highlighted TSMC as central to the AI supply chain, noting its leadership in advanced-node manufacturing and continued bullish price-target support from firms like Bernstein and BofA. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders approved TSMC’s 2025 results and charter changes at the June 4 meeting, reinforcing a stable corporate backdrop with no sign of governance disruption. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing TSMC with Micron and reviewing its decade-long stock gains was generally supportive, but largely reiterated the long-term AI investment thesis rather than delivering a new catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Media and market-watch items noted TSMC’s importance to the broader tech/AI trade and its appearance in futures and sector rotation coverage, which supports visibility but does not change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns rose after Wei warned that AI chip shortages are not ending soon and that it will take a very long time to fully satisfy U.S. customer demand, implying supply constraints and possible execution challenges. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports emphasizing a years-long AI chip supply shortage and rising component costs may pressure sentiment in the near term, even if they underscore strong demand. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

In other Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing news, VP Tzu-Sou Chuang sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.83, for a total transaction of $13,966,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,495,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $174,237,371.95. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Bor-Zen Tien purchased 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $69.91 per share, for a total transaction of $139,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $772,575.41. This represents a 22.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 3,346 shares of company stock worth $218,005 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.11% of the company's stock.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

NYSE TSM opened at $444.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $386.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $347.24. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. has a 1 year low of $202.28 and a 1 year high of $450.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.38.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $3.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 46.97% and a return on equity of 36.81%. The firm had revenue of $30.65 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 15.28 EPS for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.1136 per share. This represents a $4.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's payout ratio is currently 25.04%.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is a leading pure-play semiconductor foundry that provides wafer fabrication and related services to the global semiconductor industry. Founded in 1987 by Morris Chang and headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, TSMC manufactures integrated circuits on behalf of fabless and integrated device manufacturers, offering contract chip production across a broad set of technologies and products.

TSMC's service offering covers logic and mixed-signal process technologies, specialty processes for radio-frequency, power management and embedded memory, and advanced nodes used in mobile, high-performance computing and AI applications.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.