Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,013.37.

Several research firms recently issued reports on LRCX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group cut their target price on Lam Research from $1,250.00 to $1,150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Lam Research from $1,100.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James increased their price target on Lam Research from $950.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Lam Research Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of LRCX stock opened at $766.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.48. Lam Research has a twelve month low of $574.42 and a twelve month high of $1,130.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $855.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $929.39.

Lam Research shares are set to split on the morning of Thursday, October 3rd. The 10-1 split was announced on Tuesday, May 21st. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $8.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.58 by $0.56. Lam Research had a return on equity of 48.71% and a net margin of 25.68%. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lam Research will post 35.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 21st that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is 33.84%.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In other Lam Research news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 1,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.99, for a total value of $1,712,323.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,535,456.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Lam Research news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 1,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.99, for a total value of $1,712,323.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,535,456.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,062.26, for a total value of $687,282.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,219,945.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,326 shares of company stock worth $17,383,715 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lam Research by 20.5% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 412 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lam Research in the 2nd quarter worth about $276,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lam Research in the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,140,000. NCP Inc. purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors bought a new position in Lam Research during the second quarter worth about $1,489,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.