Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its position in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 558 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $22,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lam Research in the second quarter worth about $32,000. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its position 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Country Trust Bank bought a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lam Research Price Performance

Shares of Lam Research stock opened at $76.59 on Friday. Lam Research Co. has a 52 week low of $68.87 and a 52 week high of $113.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.25. The stock has a market cap of $98.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.46.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The semiconductor company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.05. Lam Research had a return on equity of 50.60% and a net margin of 26.02%. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.85 earnings per share. Lam Research’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lam Research Co. will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Christina Correia sold 647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $817.51, for a total transaction of $528,928.97. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,267 shares in the company, valued at $3,488,315.17. The trade was a 13.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LRCX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lam Research from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. BNP Paribas raised Lam Research to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Lam Research from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.24.

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.