Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 3,907 Shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its stake in shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 11.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 29,493 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,907 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $31,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lam Research in the fourth quarter worth $1,414,111,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 1st quarter worth about $192,668,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 968,115 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $940,592,000 after purchasing an additional 191,230 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lam Research by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,856,661 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,519,576,000 after purchasing an additional 144,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Lam Research by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,959,151 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,875,023,000 after purchasing an additional 142,903 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LRCX traded down $22.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $733.83. 1,552,952 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,419. Lam Research Co. has a 1 year low of $574.42 and a 1 year high of $1,130.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $901.71 and a 200 day moving average of $938.36. The stock has a market cap of $95.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $8.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.58 by $0.56. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Lam Research Co. will post 35.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 21st that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This is a positive change from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.84%.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In related news, CEO Timothy Archer sold 9,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,070.39, for a total transaction 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 approximately $90,596,739.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Lam Research news, CEO Timothy Archer sold 9,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,070.39, for a total transaction of $10,329,263.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,596,739.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,055.76, for a total transaction of $4,654,845.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,239,346.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,326 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,715 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LRCX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,200.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lam Research from $1,100.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Lam Research from $1,130.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Lam Research from $950.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,006.10.

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.