Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stake in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its position in shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 16.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 238,206 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 47,724 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.18% of Lam Research worth $251,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Lam Research during the first quarter worth about $192,668,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Lam Research by 24.6% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 968,115 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $940,592,000 after purchasing an additional 191,230 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lam Research by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,856,661 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,519,576,000 after purchasing an additional 144,914 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Lam Research by 5.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,959,151 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,875,023,000 after purchasing an additional 142,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis grew its holdings in Lam Research by 1,267.1% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 142,967 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $138,902,000 after purchasing an additional 132,509 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lam Research Stock Performance

Shares of LRCX opened at $784.08 on Tuesday. Lam Research Co. has a 12-month low of $574.42 and a 12-month high of $1,130.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $830.71 and its 200-day moving average is $923.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Lam Research’s stock is going to split on the morning of Thursday, October 3rd. The 10-1 split was announced on Tuesday, May 21st. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $8.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.58 by $0.56. Lam Research had a net margin of 25.68% and a return on equity of 48.71%. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lam Research Co. will post 35.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. Lam Research’s payout ratio is presently 33.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,062.26, for a total value of $687,282.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,219,945.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy Archer sold 9,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,070.39, for a total value of $10,329,263.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,596,739.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,062.26, for a total value of $687,282.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,219,945.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,326 shares of company stock worth $17,383,715. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LRCX shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Lam Research from $990.00 to $893.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, August 1st. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $1,130.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Lam Research from $1,250.00 to $1,150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lam Research from $1,100.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,012.84.

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.