Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $981.29.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LRCX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a "hold" rating and a $1,000.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $1,100.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Lam Research from $950.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lam Research from $975.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,200.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In related news, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 882 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.03, for a total value of $857,330.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,246,168.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Lam Research news, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 882 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $972.03, for a total value of $857,330.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $10,246,168.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christina Corrreia sold 647 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $972.03, for a total transaction of $628,903.41. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,386,018.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,989 shares of company stock valued at $1,904,810. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Lam Research by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Lam Research by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 491 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lam Research by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,073 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Lam Research by 32,411.1% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 14,630 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $11,459,000 after purchasing an additional 14,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,930,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lam Research Stock Performance

LRCX traded up $9.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,064.85. 1,223,722 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,319. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $964.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $907.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Lam Research has a 1-year low of $574.42 and a 1-year high of $1,101.81.

Shares of Lam Research are set to split on the morning of Thursday, October 3rd. The 10-1 split was announced on Tuesday, May 21st. The newly issued shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The semiconductor company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.26 by $0.53. Lam Research had a return on equity of 45.96% and a net margin of 25.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.99 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lam Research will post 29.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Lam Research's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.42%.

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.