Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 8.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 18 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LRCX. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Lam Research by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 35 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lam Research by 78.6% during the fourth 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. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Lam Research from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Lam Research from $950.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Lam Research from $865.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Lam Research from $1,250.00 to $1,150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lam Research currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,062.26, for a total transaction of $687,282.22. Following 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 link. In related news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,219,945.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 4,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,857 shares in the company, valued at $7,239,346.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,326 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,715. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Lam Research Stock Performance

NASDAQ LRCX opened at $766.04 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $855.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $929.39. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $574.42 and a 1 year high of $1,130.00. The company has a market capitalization of $100.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.48.

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 minted 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.58 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 48.71% and a net margin of 25.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lam Research Co. will post 35.2 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $2.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $9.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.84%.

Lam Research declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.