Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $151.67, but opened at $156.05. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shares last traded at $153.21, with a volume of 8,189,700 shares changing hands.

The semiconductor company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $25.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.10 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a net margin of 40.51% and a return on equity of 30.47%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.6855 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's payout ratio is 30.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on TSM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $220.00.

Institutional Trading of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TSM. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,547,257 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $11,562,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572,488 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 41,877,457 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,270,379,000 after acquiring an additional 231,310 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 35,602,400 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,031,632,000 after acquiring an additional 294,316 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,210,222 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,391,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,392,159 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,829,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,166 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.51% of the company's stock.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $787.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.16. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $173.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.08.

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.