Lam Research Corporation $LRCX Shares Acquired by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 85.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 124,655 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,361 shares during the quarter. Lam Research makes up approximately 0.6% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $40,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Lam Research by 2.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,704,130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,320,468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,545,830 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Lam Research by 5.5% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,244,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,872,426,000 after purchasing an additional 584,489 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Lam Research by 411.8% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,089,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,805,368,000 after purchasing an additional 8,922,854 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Lam Research by 23.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,147,479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,168,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,862 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Lam Research by 2.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 9,265,026 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,975,244,000 after purchasing an additional 181,087 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

These are some of the LRCX stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Lam’s shares rose alongside peers in a broad wafer-fabrication-equipment rally, suggesting a rebound in sector sentiment after the recent decline. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The board authorized up to $25 billion in share repurchases with no set end date and reaffirmed the $0.33 quarterly dividend. The buyback could support shareholder returns and demand for the stock, although it does not by itself resolve concerns about growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Lam named longtime employee Kim Tae-won to lead its Korean operations, a region important to the company’s relationships with major chipmakers. The appointment may aid execution but has no clear immediate financial impact. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LRCX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $435.00 target price (down from $450.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $345.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (down from $425.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Lam Research from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Twenty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total transaction of $1,512,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,843,056.52. The trade was a 10.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total value of $3,007,970.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,607,966.30. The trade was a 31.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,573 shares of company stock worth $4,523,606. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lam Research Trading Up 6.1%

Lam Research stock opened at $235.88 on Thursday. Lam Research Corporation has a 12-month low of $135.50 and a 12-month high of $438.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $280.09 and a 200 day moving average of $283.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.14 billion. Lam Research had a net margin of 32.34% and a return on equity of 72.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 54.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lam Research Corporation will post 9.60 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is 19.67%.

Lam Research announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lam Research Profile

Lam Research is a global supplier of equipment and services used to manufacture semiconductors. Its products help chipmakers create and process the microscopic structures that form integrated circuits. The company’s wafer fabrication equipment is used for processes including etch, thin-film deposition and wafer cleaning. Lam also provides services such as equipment maintenance, upgrades, spare parts and other support for chip manufacturing operations. Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Fremont, California, Lam Research serves semiconductor manufacturers around the world.