Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Given New $77.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report published on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on LRCX. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $880.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Lam Research from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Lam Research from $99.00 to $89.30 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Lam Research from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Lam Research from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $139.82.

Lam Research Trading Down 0.2 %

LRCX traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.86. 20,422,197 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,216,109. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.68, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.47. Lam Research has a one year low of $57.44 and a one year high of $113.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.97.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.05. Lam Research had a net margin of 25.68% and a return on equity of 48.71%. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lam Research will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 17th. Lam Research's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.38%.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total value of $528,928.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,267 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,315.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Lam Research by 68.7% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 35,991 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,372,000 after buying an additional 14,658 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,377 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $38,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Symmetry Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Lam Research in the 2nd quarter worth $3,229,000. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 3rd quarter worth $5,182,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Lam Research by 38.4% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 120,736 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $98,530,000 after purchasing an additional 33,489 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company's stock.

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.