Blue Whale Capital LLP Trims Position in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Blue Whale Capital LLP lowered its stake in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 72,350 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 41,950 shares during the quarter. Lam Research accounts for 6.8% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Blue Whale Capital LLP owned 0.06% of Lam Research worth $77,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LRCX. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Lam Research by 52.2% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lam Research during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lam Research in the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank bought a new stake in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,219,945.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,062.26, for a total transaction of $687,282.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,914 shares in the company, valued at $5,219,945.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 1,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.99, for a total transaction of $1,712,323.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,535,456.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,326 shares of company stock worth $17,383,715. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LRCX has been the subject of several research reports. 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Lam Research from $929.00 to $774.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,012.84.

Lam Research Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:LRCX opened at $773.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $101.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $836.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $925.79. Lam Research Co. has a 52 week low of $574.42 and a 52 week high of $1,130.00. 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’s stock is going to split before the market opens on Thursday, October 3rd. The 10-1 split was announced on Tuesday, May 21st. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lam Research Co. will post 35.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.84%.

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.