Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Holdings in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 73.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,430 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $2,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new stake 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 purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Lam Research by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 50 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. 84.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In related news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of the firm’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 $7,239,346.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of the firm’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 $7,239,346.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 1,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,056.99, for a total transaction of $1,712,323.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,535,456.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,326 shares of company stock worth $17,383,715 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lam Research Price Performance

LRCX opened at $747.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.48. Lam Research Co. has a fifty-two week low of $574.42 and a fifty-two week high of $1,130.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $875.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $933.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Lam Research shares are scheduled to split before the market opens on Thursday, October 3rd. The 10-1 split was announced on Tuesday, May 21st. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $8.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.98 earnings per share. Lam Research’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lam Research Co. will post 35.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. 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 (DPR) is currently 33.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LRCX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $1,100.00 to $950.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,200.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $950.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,006.10.

About Lam Research

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.