Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.57 Million Stake in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 1,500.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,664 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 20,310 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $1,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 957 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 35,655 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,967,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 300 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 380 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 205.4% in the 2nd quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 791 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lam Research Stock Up 1.4 %

Lam Research stock opened at $80.30 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Lam Research Co. has a 12-month low of $68.87 and a 12-month high of $113.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.73 and its 200 day moving average is $80.63. The company has a market capitalization of $103.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.45.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. Lam Research had a net margin of 26.02% and a return on equity of 50.60%. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.85 EPS. Lam Research’s quarterly revenue was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lam Research Co. will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LRCX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lam Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Lam Research from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Lam Research from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lam Research presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.77.

Lam Research Company 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.