Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Stock Price Up 1.4% - Should You Buy?

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $239.02 and last traded at $237.97. 3,059,442 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 14,899,659 shares. The stock had previously closed at $234.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on TSM. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Susquehanna set a $265.00 target price on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.33.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $216.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.34. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 34.53% and a net margin of 42.91%. The firm had revenue of $30.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 44.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 238.0% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 169 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC now owns 191 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.51% of the company's stock.

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.