Nicholas Company Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Nicholas Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 900.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 442,550 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 398,295 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $31,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Lam Research by 892.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,578,181 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,341,902,000 after acquiring an additional 16,706,708 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 7,601.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 12,945,172 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $990,464,000 after purchasing an additional 12,777,094 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 860.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,786,808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $851,361,000 after purchasing an additional 10,559,508 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 931.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,482,429 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $612,686,000 after purchasing an additional 7,659,830 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,886,676 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,817,113,000 after purchasing an additional 94,086 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In other news, SVP Seshasayee Varadarajan sold 110,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $9,907,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,117,560. The trade was a 38.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Price Performance

Shares of LRCX opened at $78.69 on Friday. Lam Research Co. has a twelve month low of $68.87 and a twelve month high of $113.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $79.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Lam Research Co. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LRCX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna upgraded Lam Research from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $125.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lam Research from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lam Research from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Lam Research from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lam Research has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.22.

Lam Research 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.