Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s (TSM) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $168.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock.

TSM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $155.75.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

NYSE TSM opened at $132.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.13. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has a 1 year low of $81.21 and a 1 year high of $158.40. The company has a market capitalization of $685.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.74.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The semiconductor company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 38.80% and a return on equity of 25.24%. The company had revenue of $19.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.99 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4408 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 45.3% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,237 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after buying an additional 4,750 shares in the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 43.3% in the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 84,646 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,562,000 after buying an additional 25,563 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 4,707.7% in the first quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 4,896 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the first quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 16,445.7% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 49,637 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,753,000 after buying an additional 49,337 shares in the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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