Benson Investment Management Company Inc. Makes New Investment in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,350 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $5,182,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Lam Research by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lam Research Stock Down 10.9 %

NASDAQ:LRCX traded down $9.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $76.36. 25,580,819 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,022,084. The firm has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.47. Lam Research Co. has a twelve month low of $57.44 and a twelve month 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. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $95.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.99.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 48.71% and a net margin of 25.68%. Lam Research's quarterly revenue was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lam Research Co. will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 17th. Lam Research's payout ratio is 3.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lam Research news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total value of $528,928.97. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,488,315.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LRCX shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Lam Research from $125.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. StockNews.com lowered Lam Research from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Lam Research from $92.90 to $77.40 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Lam Research from $105.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Lam Research from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.28.

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.