Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Trading 8.3% Higher on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s share price rose 8.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $81.28 and last traded at $81.36. Approximately 11,872,303 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 11,942,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.15.

The semiconductor company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. Lam Research had a return on equity of 50.60% and a net margin of 26.02%.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Lam Research from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp raised shares of Lam Research from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Lam Research from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (down previously from $105.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.72.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Lam Research by 1,394.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,081,071 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 15,005,178 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Lam Research by 1,488.8% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,069,002 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $221,674,000 after buying an additional 2,875,843 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 827.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,160,523 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $228,285,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819,668 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,652,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Lam Research by 904.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,371,062 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $99,031,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234,595 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lam Research Trading Up 8.7 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.45.

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.