Morgan Stanley Lowers Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Price Target to $774.00

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $929.00 to $774.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lam Research from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Lam Research from $865.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $1,013.37.

Lam Research Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LRCX opened at $789.07 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $842.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $927.21. The stock has a market cap of $103.16 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Lam Research has a 52-week low of $574.42 and a 52-week high of $1,130.00.

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

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $8.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 firm posted $5.98 EPS. Lam Research’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lam Research will post 35.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This is a boost 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 related news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 1,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was 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 owns 5,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,535,456.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy Archer sold 9,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,070.39, for a total value of $10,329,263.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,639 shares in the company, valued at $90,596,739.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 1,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,237 shares in the company, valued at $5,535,456.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,326 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,715 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 50 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at $40,000. 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.