Prudential PLC Cuts Stock Position in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Prudential PLC reduced its position in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 11.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,399 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,789 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $14,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lam Research during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lam Research

In related news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,055.76, for a total value of $4,654,845.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,239,346.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Lam Research news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,055.76, for a total value of $4,654,845.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,239,346.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,712,323.80. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,326 shares of company stock worth $17,383,715. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LRCX. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Lam Research in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,100.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Lam Research from $1,100.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. B. Riley upped their price target on Lam Research from $1,130.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Lam Research from $1,025.00 to $990.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,006.10.

Lam Research Stock Performance

Shares of LRCX opened at $734.31 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $895.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $937.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Lam Research Co. has a 12 month low of $574.42 and a 12 month high of $1,130.00. The company has a market cap of $95.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.48.

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

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $8.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.58 by $0.56. Lam Research had a return on equity of 48.71% and a net margin of 25.68%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Lam Research Co. will post 35.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.42%.

Lam Research Company Profile

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.