Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. by 24.9%, selling 43,128 shares to hold a total of 129,816 shares valued at approximately $21.5 million.
• Taiwan Semiconductor's stock price opened at $232.44 with a market cap of $1.21 trillion, showcasing a PE ratio of 26.50 and a 52-week high of $248.28.
• Despite a recent quarterly earnings report that exceeded expectations, the company announced a lower dividend payout of $0.6499 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.1%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM - Free Report) by 24.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,816 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 43,128 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $21,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TSM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,930 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,159,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 23,619 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,666,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 871,742 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $172,160,000 after buying an additional 241,414 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,178,381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $825,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148,889 shares in the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.33.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TSM traded up $10.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $242.27. The company had a trading volume of 17,663,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,151,170. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. has a twelve month low of $134.25 and a twelve month high of $248.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.34. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 42.91% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $30.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 44.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.6499 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's payout ratio is currently 28.16%.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

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.