Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 4,819 Shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 36.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,184 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 4,819 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $14,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Whale Capital LLP grew its position in shares of Lam Research by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Whale Capital LLP now owns 112,300 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $70,386,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Lam Research by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,190,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Lam Research by 32,411.1% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 14,630 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,459,000 after buying an additional 14,585 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lam Research during the fourth quarter valued at $7,930,000. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 63,809 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,994,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LRCX traded up $24.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $892.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 368,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,048,436. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $944.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $804.00. Lam Research Co. has a 12-month low of $493.42 and a 12-month high of $1,007.39.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $7.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 44.47% and a net margin of 24.15%. The business’s revenue was down 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lam Research Co. will post 28.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $2.00 dividend. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Lam Research’s payout ratio is 30.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 882 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,246,168.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Seshasayee Varadarajan sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.41, for a total transaction of $5,073,255.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,380,648.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Abhijit Y. Talwalkar sold 882 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,246,168.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,029 shares of company stock valued at $6,559,489 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LRCX. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Lam Research from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Lam Research from $900.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Lam Research from $655.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. B. Riley raised shares of Lam Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $870.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Lam Research from $900.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $931.85.

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.