Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. $TSM Stock Bought by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments increased its TSMC stake by 2.6% in the third quarter, adding 2,518 shares for a total of 97,970 shares valued at approximately $44.7 million.
• TSMC continues to benefit from strong AI-related demand and record earnings, while analysts remain bullish: the stock has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $528.78.
• Despite strong profitability and recent insider purchases, investors are watching a slight gross-margin decline and supply-expansion costs; TSMC also reduced its quarterly dividend to $1.0854 from $1.1136.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 97,970 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares during the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing comprises about 1.0% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $44,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 200.0% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 88.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Markowski Investments acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 257.7% in the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 93 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s upgraded TSMC’s issuer rating to Aa2 from Aa3, citing its dominant foundry position, robust balance sheet and sustained AI-related demand. The stable outlook and upgraded ratings for financing subsidiaries could lower perceived credit risk. Moody’s upgrades TSMC rating
• Positive Sentiment: TSMC reported its sixth consecutive quarter of record profit, while management raised its full-year growth outlook for the third time. Analysts at Erste Group also increased their FY2026 EPS estimate to $17.21 from $16.92 and FY2027 forecast to $22.82 from $22.26, above the current consensus for the current year. TSMC record profit and market concerns
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to view TSMC as a critical supplier for AI accelerators, smartphones and data centers. Its advanced-node manufacturing, packaging capabilities and broad customer base reinforce the company’s competitive position as AI infrastructure spending expands. TSMC as a global computing utility
• Positive Sentiment: TSMC confirmed discussions with SpaceX regarding its proposed Terafab facility. Any agreement could provide additional long-term capacity demand, although the company reportedly wants operational control of the fab. TSMC and SpaceX Terafab discussions
• Neutral Sentiment: TSMC’s results demonstrate powerful demand, but comparisons with ASML highlight a key constraint: AI orders exceed currently available semiconductor manufacturing equipment, fab capacity and advanced packaging. The pace and cost of expanding supply remain important investment questions. ASML versus TSMC and AI demand
• Negative Sentiment: Despite record earnings, a slight decline in gross margin unsettled some investors. The reaction reflects concerns that higher overseas expansion costs, capacity investments or product mix could pressure profitability even while revenue and AI demand remain strong. TSMC margin concerns

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TSM. Weiss Ratings raised Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $665.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $528.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

In other news, VP Lipen Yuan purchased 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $73.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,753.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $147,160. This trade represents a 21.21% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Bor-Zen Tien purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $73.06 per share, for a total transaction of $73,060.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 14,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,026,566.06. This represents a 7.66% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 8,043 shares of company stock worth $598,956 in the last 90 days. 1.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock opened at $417.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.37. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. has a 52 week low of $266.82 and a 52 week high of $487.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $434.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $420.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The semiconductor company reported $4.62 earnings per share for the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 42.84% and a net margin of 51.51%. The company had revenue of $46.87 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 17.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 10th will be issued a $1.0854 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. This is a negative change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's previous quarterly dividend of $1.1136. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's payout ratio is 22.07%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Profile

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited NYSE: TSM, commonly known as TSMC, is a dedicated semiconductor foundry headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The company manufactures integrated circuits for customers that design their own chips, allowing semiconductor, electronics, and technology companies to outsource production rather than operate their own fabrication facilities.

TSMC provides wafer fabrication services across a broad range of process technologies, including advanced nodes used in high-performance computing, smartphones, automotive systems, and artificial intelligence applications.

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