Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.24.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lam Research from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on Lam Research from $99.00 to $89.30 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Lam Research from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th.

Lam Research Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:LRCX opened at $73.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $94.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $74.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Lam Research has a 52 week low of $68.87 and a 52 week high of $113.00.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. Lam Research had a net margin of 26.02% and a return on equity of 50.60%. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Lam Research will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is 29.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total value of $528,928.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,488,315.17. This trade represents a 13.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lam Research

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Lam Research by 20.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 238,275 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $194,451,000 after buying an additional 39,725 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Lam Research by 68.7% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 35,991 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,372,000 after purchasing an additional 14,658 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 51.9% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 215,420 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $175,800,000 after purchasing an additional 73,648 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Lam Research by 9.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 340,855 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $278,165,000 after purchasing an additional 28,089 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

About Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company offers ALTUS systems to deposit conformal films for tungsten metallization applications; SABRE electrochemical deposition products for copper interconnect transition that offers copper damascene manufacturing; SOLA ultraviolet thermal processing products for film treatments; and VECTOR plasma-enhanced CVD ALD products.