Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $225.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock opened at $199.94 on Tuesday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has a 1-year low of $122.91 and a 1-year high of $226.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.22.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 40.51% and a return on equity of 30.47%. As a group, analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a $0.6855 dividend. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 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 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.