Gradient Investments LLC Lowers Stake in Lam Research Corporation $LRCX

Key Points

• Gradient Investments LLC cut its stake in Lam Research by 33.2% in Q4, selling 83,483 shares and finishing the quarter with 168,110 shares valued at about $28.78 million.
• Analysts have raised price targets recently, leaving a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a mean target of $245.35 and individual targets ranging roughly $245–$325.
• Insiders sold 130,886 shares (about $29.66 million) over the past three months—including a 35,000-share sale by director Eric Brandt—bringing insider ownership to 0.31%.

Gradient Investments LLC lessened its stake in Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Free Report) by 33.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 168,110 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 83,483 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Lam Research were worth $28,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LRCX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lam Research by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,974,214 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $17,537,447,000 after buying an additional 364,949 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,817,352 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,024,684,000 after buying an additional 265,805 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 21,182,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,836,397,000 after buying an additional 3,263,658 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lam Research during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,894,585,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Lam Research by 781.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 11,340,865 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,518,542,000 after acquiring an additional 10,053,978 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Lam Research from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Susquehanna set a $325.00 price target on shares of Lam Research and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $195.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lam Research from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $245.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lam Research

In other news, insider Ava Harter sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.66, for a total value of $333,990.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 53,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,846,625.30. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eric Brandt sold 35,000 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.60, for a total transaction of $7,896,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 253,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $57,235,848. This trade represents a 12.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 130,886 shares of company stock valued at $29,658,802. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Lam Research Price Performance

LRCX stock opened at $228.36 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $226.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.77. Lam Research Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.32 and a 1 year high of $256.68.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.10. Lam Research had a return on equity of 62.81% and a net margin of 30.22%.The business had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Lam Research's payout ratio is 21.31%.

About Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation NASDAQ: LRCX is a global supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. Founded in 1980 by David K. Lam and headquartered in Fremont, California, the company develops and manufactures systems used in multiple stages of semiconductor device production, including thin film deposition, plasma etch, wafer cleaning and related process modules and automation.

Lam's product portfolio covers core process technologies employed by logic and memory manufacturers, with equipment designed to support advanced-node patterning, 3D NAND and other emerging device architectures.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.