Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Stake in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX - Free Report) by 5,991.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,390,249 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,334,593 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.26% of Lam Research worth $244,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lam Research by 892.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,787,727 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,724,498,000 after buying an additional 108,619,564 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Lam Research by 1,032.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,031,194 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,891,453,000 after acquiring an additional 36,496,689 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lam Research by 907.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,428,010 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,265,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,307,499 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lam Research in the fourth quarter valued at $1,661,672,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,341,902,000 after purchasing an additional 16,706,708 shares during the period. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other Lam Research news, SVP Seshasayee Varadarajan sold 110,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $9,907,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,117,560. This trade represents a 38.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on LRCX shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lam Research from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Lam Research from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Lam Research from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.87.

Lam Research Price Performance

Lam Research stock traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.48. 14,704,156 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,144,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 2.54. Lam Research Co. has a 52 week low of $56.32 and a 52 week high of $113.00. The firm has a market cap of $86.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.52. The company's fifty day moving average is $76.49 and its 200-day moving average is $76.49.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lam Research Co. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Lam Research's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.96%.

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.