Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 614,205 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,362 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.47% of Lam Research worth $654,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lam Research in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 52.2% in the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Lam Research by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 50 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lam Research during the second quarter valued at $40,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lam Research Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of LRCX opened at $769.72 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $868.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $932.18. 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 company has a market capitalization of $100.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.48. Lam Research Co. has a 52 week low of $574.42 and a 52 week high of $1,130.00.

Lam Research’s stock is set to split before the market opens on Thursday, October 3rd. The 10-1 split was announced on Tuesday, May 21st. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, October 2nd.

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

Lam Research Increases Dividend

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

Lam Research announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LRCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Lam Research from $950.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $1,100.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. B. Riley upped their target price on Lam Research from $1,130.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Lam Research from $865.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Lam Research from $1,100.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lam Research currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,015.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,239,346.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 1,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,326 shares of company stock worth $17,383,715. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.