Alhambra Investment Management LLC Acquires Stake in Lam Research Co.

Alhambra Investment Management LLC has recently disclosed the acquisition of a new position in Lam Research Co. (NASDAQ:LRCX) during the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year. This was reported in their latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,476 shares of Lam Research, which amounts to an investment of about $251,000.

Institutional Changes in Holdings

Several other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Lam Research. Notably, Van ECK Associates Corp significantly increased its stake by an impressive 1,394.7% during the third quarter, acquiring an additional 15,005,178 shares. Following this, State Street Corp added 94,086 shares to grow its holdings by 1.6%, bringing their total to 5,886,676 shares. Similarly, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its shares by 2.1%, now holding 3,120,511 shares. Additionally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. entered a new position during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,652,000. Lastly, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position by 0.6% by acquiring an additional 11,093 shares. Altogether, institutional investors and hedge funds own about 84.61% of Lam Research’s stock.

Current Status of Lam Research Stock

As of the last trading day, Lam Research's stock (LRCX) opened at $80.30. The company maintains a market capitalization of $103.32 billion. It has a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, with a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37. The stock shows a beta of 1.45, indicating it could be more volatile compared to the market. Over the past 50 days, the stock has had a moving average price of $74.68, while the 200-day moving average sits at $80.99. Importantly, the company has shown resilience with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53 and demonstrates strong liquidity with a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Over the past year, the stock has experienced a low of $68.87 and a high of $113.00.

Recent Earnings Report

Lam Research announced its latest earnings results on October 23rd. The semiconductor giant reported earnings of $0.86 per share for the quarter, which surpassed analysts' expectations of $0.81 by $0.05. The company demonstrated strong profitability with a net margin of 26.02% and a notable return on equity of 50.60%. Revenue for the quarter was reported at $4.17 billion, exceeding the anticipated $4.06 billion. Additionally, this marks a 19.7% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year. Analysts forecast that Lam Research will post earnings of $3.51 per share for the current fiscal year.

Dividends and Shareholder Returns

In a recent development, Lam Research announced a quarterly dividend that was paid on January 8th. Shareholders who were on record as of December 11th received a dividend of $0.23 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.92 and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date for this payment was also December 11th. Currently, the company's payout ratio stands at 29.74%, indicating a conservative approach to returning profits to shareholders.

Analyst Ratings and Market Perspective

The stock has recently been the subject of analysis and target adjustments by various research firms. B. Riley lowered its target price for Lam Research from $132.50 to $105.00 while maintaining a 'buy' rating. Cantor Fitzgerald, on the other hand, reaffirmed a 'neutral' rating with a $100.00 target price. Morgan Stanley increased their target from $76.00 to $78.00 but retained an 'equal weight' stance. Moreover, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a 'buy' recommendation with a price target set at $100.00. Lastly, BNP Paribas lifted their rating to 'hold'. Overall, nine analysts rate Lam Research as a hold while fourteen recommend a buy, contributing to a consensus rating of 'Moderate Buy'. The average target price suggested across analysts is $95.77.

Insights on Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation specializes in designing, manufacturing, marketing, refurbishing, and servicing equipment used in semiconductor processing, crucial for producing integrated circuits. The company offers a variety of systems including ALTUS for tungsten metallization, SABRE for electrochemical deposition, SOLA for ultraviolet thermal processing, and VECTOR for plasma-enhanced applications.

Investment, Shares, Analysis