Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys New Shares in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Howard Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 36,103 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,608,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its stake in Lam Research by 908.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 343 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in Lam Research during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 900.0% in the 4th quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 400 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Finley Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LRCX. KeyCorp upgraded Lam Research from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna upgraded Lam Research from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $125.00 in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Lam Research from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lam Research from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.22.

Lam Research Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LRCX opened at $86.02 on Friday. Lam Research Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.87 and a fifty-two week high of $113.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $110.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.46.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Lam Research had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 26.49%. Sell-side analysts expect that Lam Research Co. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is 27.96%.

Insider Transactions at Lam Research

In other news, SVP Seshasayee Varadarajan sold 110,080 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $9,907,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,117,560. This trade represents a 38.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.