Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Stock Price Down 1.5% – Here’s What Happened

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM)’s share price dropped 1.5% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $391.50 and last traded at $399.5020. Approximately 10,644,705 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 13,224,182 shares. The stock had previously closed at $405.49.

Key Stories Impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Investors following TSM have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: TSMC reported record October revenue of NT$586.89 billion, up 59.7% year over year. The strong growth points to continued demand for AI chips and supports expectations that the company’s capacity investments can sustain expansion. Article: TSMC Just Booked a Record NT$587 Billion Month
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced an approximately 41% year-over-year increase in its quarterly dividend to about $1.37 per ADS, a positive signal for shareholder returns, though the higher payout is not expected to be reflected immediately in distributions. TSMC dividend information
• Negative Sentiment: TSMC confirmed that current and former employees’ personal data was exposed through a cloud provider. Reports say hackers are demanding 3 bitcoin over about 46,000 records, raising cybersecurity and reputational concerns. Article: TSMC Confirms Employee Data Leak Through Cloud Provider

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $554.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $533.89.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $430.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $402.49.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $46.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.67 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 51.51% and a return on equity of 42.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 17.36 EPS for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 11th will be issued a $1.3663 dividend. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.0854. This represents a $5.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 11th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing news, VP Lipen Yuan acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, November 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.49 per share, with a total value of $71,490.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $571,920. This trade represents a 14.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Splinter bought 840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $357.00 per share, for a total transaction of $299,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,000,585. The trade was a 11.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 7,869 shares of company stock worth $823,771. Insiders own 1.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,932,587 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,636,858,000 after acquiring an additional 66,389 shares during the period. Tiger Global Management LLC grew its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 49.4% during the 1st quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 5,565,074 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,880,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839,600 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,057,858 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,851,187,000 after purchasing an additional 451,966 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 11.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,591,510 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $875,802,000 after purchasing an additional 274,389 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 67.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,717,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $783,513,000 after purchasing an additional 690,523 shares during the period. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is a semiconductor foundry that manufactures chips designed by other companies. It provides wafer fabrication and related services, including advanced packaging, serving customers across industries such as computing, communications, automotive and consumer electronics. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, TSMC helped establish the dedicated foundry model, in which a manufacturer focuses on producing semiconductors for customers rather than selling its own chip designs.