Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $150.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Approximately 5,552,957 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the previous session's volume of 15,575,888 shares.The stock last traded at $128.99 and had previously closed at $132.27.

TSM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 3.3% in the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 2,288 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 3.0% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,081 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,427 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 4,819 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.51% of the company's stock.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $662.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $136.61 and a 200 day moving average of $112.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The semiconductor company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $19.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.99 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 25.24% and a net margin of 38.80%. Research analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be given a $0.4408 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.20%.

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 complementary metal oxide silicon wafer fabrication processes to manufacture logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, and embedded memory semiconductors.