Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) Shares Acquired by Gradient Capital Advisors LLC

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 898.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,883 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,592 shares during the quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $1,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Lam Research by 870.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 5,676 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 5,091 shares during the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its holdings in Lam Research by 900.0% during the 4th quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 20,330 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 18,297 shares during the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its position in Lam Research by 880.4% during the fourth quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 13,226 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 11,877 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 900.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lam Research Price Performance

LRCX opened at $83.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 2.54. Lam Research Co. has a 1-year low of $68.87 and a 1-year high of $113.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.03 and a 200-day moving average of $78.01. The company has a market capitalization of $106.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.46.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Lam Research had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 26.49%. Equities analysts expect that Lam Research Co. will post 3.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is currently 27.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LRCX. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lam Research to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lam Research from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Lam Research from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (down previously from $105.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Lam Research from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.72.

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.