Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Call Options (NYSE:TSM)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 284,689 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 94% compared to the typical daily volume of 146,818 call options.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock opened at $211.52 on Friday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has a fifty-two week low of $109.48 and a fifty-two week high of $222.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $197.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.08. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 27.44% and a net margin of 39.10%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.5484 per share. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on TSM. StockNews.com cut Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSM. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 191 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 108.0% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 16.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.