Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,450,000 shares, a drop of 15.5% from the November 30th total of 30,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 77.1% in the third quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 48.1% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 191 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, November 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.00.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of TSM stock traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $201.63. 10,393,031 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,047,161. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has a 12-month low of $98.80 and a 12-month high of $212.60. The business's fifty day moving average is $195.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 2.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.09.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The semiconductor company reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $23.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.72 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 39.10% and a return on equity of 27.44%. As a group, research analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.5484 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.10%.

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 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.