Sciencast Management LP Takes Position in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 41,461 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,995,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Global Investments boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 96.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 14,176 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lifted its position in Lam Research by 781.7% during the fourth quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. now owns 283,900 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,506,000 after purchasing an additional 251,700 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 111.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,542 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 1,046.8% in the 4th quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,163 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DCF Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 1,400.0% during the 4th quarter. DCF Advisers LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Seshasayee Varadarajan sold 110,080 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $9,907,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,084 shares in the company, valued at $16,117,560. This trade represents 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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lam Research Stock Performance

Shares of LRCX stock opened at $75.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.62 and a 200 day moving average of $77.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.53. Lam Research Co. has a 52 week low of $68.87 and a 52 week high of $113.00.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 51.86%. As a group, research analysts expect that Lam Research Co. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LRCX. Mizuho increased their target price on Lam Research from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. KeyCorp upgraded Lam Research from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded Lam Research from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.06.

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.