Insider Selling: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) VP Sells 200,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• TSMC VP Tzu-Sou Chuang sold 200,000 shares on May 19 at an average price of $69.83, totaling about $13.97 million. After the sale, Chuang still directly owned 2,495,165 shares.
• The stock was down 2.1% as the article was published, with TSM opening at $395.84. Despite the move, TSMC remains a large, highly profitable company with a market cap of about $2.05 trillion.
• Analysts and investors remain broadly bullish on TSMC, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $404.29. The company also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.1136 per share, up from $0.95.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) VP Tzu-Sou Chuang sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.83, for a total value of $13,966,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,495,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,237,371.95. This represents a 7.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE TSM opened at $395.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $366.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $335.73. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. has a 52-week low of $188.81 and a 52-week high of $421.97.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The semiconductor company reported $3.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $30.65 billion during the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 46.97%. Sell-side analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 15.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.1136 per share. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Dbs Bank raised Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $404.29.

Key Stories Impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

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

• Positive Sentiment: Coatue Management reportedly boosted its TSMC stake by 654,023 shares, reinforcing the view that large investors still see upside in the company’s AI-driven growth. Coatue Management boosts Taiwan Semiconductor stake by 654,023 shares
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted TSMC as a preferred way to play the AI semiconductor boom, including pieces noting it could benefit heading into Nvidia’s earnings and that it remains a top stock among billionaire investors. Nvidia Stock May or May Not Soar on May 20, But This Super AI Semiconductor Stock Could Pop and Go On a Terrific Bull Run
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary also framed TSMC as part of an “AI Revolution” basket and a long-term multibagger candidate, supporting bullish sentiment on the company’s role in advanced chip manufacturing. CIO touts 'AIR 7' as AI-heavy alternative to 'Magnificent 7'
• Neutral Sentiment: TSMC Vice President Bor-Zen Tien bought 2,000 shares, but another vice president sold 200,000 shares. The mixed insider activity is notable, but by itself it does not clearly point to a major change in fundamentals. SEC filing for Bor-Zen Tien purchase SEC filing for Tzu-Sou Chuang sale
• Neutral Sentiment: TSMC announced it will sell about 152 million Vanguard International Semiconductor shares, a move described as a capital-refocusing decision rather than a signal of distress. TSMC Trims Vanguard Stake To Refocus Capital And Valuation Story
• Negative Sentiment: CNBC reported that the Iran war is adding pressure to AI chip supply chains and costs, which could weigh on semiconductor makers like TSMC if disruptions persist. Tech investors loved this earnings season — but the Iran war is piling pressure on the companies powering the AI boom

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Shannon River Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,430,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 9.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 101,876 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $28,470,000 after purchasing an additional 8,738 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 28.6% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 37,216 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $10,394,000 after purchasing an additional 8,284 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 14,406 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 125.3% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 5,216 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901 shares during the period. 16.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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