Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:TSM)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 284,689 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 94% compared to the typical volume of 146,818 call options.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of TSM stock traded up $8.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $215.06. 38,463,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,062,771. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $197.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.96. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has a twelve month low of $100.00 and a twelve month high of $222.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 2.57.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 27.44% and a net margin of 39.10%. As a group, analysts forecast that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.5484 dividend. This is a positive change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's payout ratio is 35.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 4,264 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,233 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. boosted its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 3,150 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,330 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on TSM. Susquehanna restated a "buy" rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Friday, October 18th. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, November 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.00.

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.