Legal & General Group Plc Grows Holdings in Lam Research Corporation $LRCX

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Lam Research by 1.9% in Q3 to 11,088,344 shares (0.88% of the company), buying an additional 208,670 shares and valuing its position at about $1,484,729,000.
• Analysts are bullish: several firms raised price targets (Citigroup to $300, Susquehanna to $325, Rothschild/Redburn to $265), leaving Lam Research with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.19.
• Insider selling and high institutional ownership: CFO Douglas Bettinger sold 50,057 shares (part of 130,886 shares insiders sold in the last 90 days), while hedge funds and other institutions own about 84.61% of the stock and insiders own 0.31%.

Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,088,344 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 208,670 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.88% of Lam Research worth $1,484,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Lam Research by 590.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH now owns 59,555 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,974,000 after purchasing an additional 50,933 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in shares of Lam Research by 52.0% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 262,544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $34,417,000 after purchasing an additional 89,856 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Lam Research by 8.0% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 140,433 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $18,804,000 after purchasing an additional 10,408 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Lam Research by 115.2% in the third quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 22,198 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 11,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Lam Research by 30.9% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 144,656 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $19,369,000 after purchasing an additional 34,147 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LRCX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Lam Research from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Lam Research from $244.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $325.00 target price on shares of Lam Research and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lam Research presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $245.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 50,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.03, for a total value of $11,214,269.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,081,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $242,334,371.15. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $333,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 53,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,846,625.30. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 130,886 shares of company stock worth $29,658,802 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lam Research Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LRCX opened at $211.19 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $221.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.73 billion, a PE ratio of 43.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Lam Research Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.32 and a 12 month high of $256.68.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid 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 currently 21.31%.

Lam Research Profile

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.

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