Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 131,030 Shares of Lam Research Corporation $LRCX

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its Lam Research stake by 6.6% in the first quarter, selling 131,030 shares and ending with 1,839,740 shares valued at about $393.1 million.
• Insider selling has also been notable, with SVP Neil J. Fernandes and insider Ava Harter both selling shares; over the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,339 shares worth $27.7 million.
• Lam Research reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.47 and revenue of $5.84 billion, while analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $350.81.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,839,740 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 131,030 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Lam Research worth $393,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Lam Research by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 17,107 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,655,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lam Research by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lam Research by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 28,135 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,011,000 after buying an additional 6,030 shares in the last quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 704.4% in the 1st quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. now owns 40,220 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,593,000 after buying an additional 35,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Lam Research by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 75,621 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $16,153,000 after buying an additional 3,118 shares during the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Neil J. Fernandes sold 18,170 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.14, for a total transaction of $4,635,893.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,872,153.06. This trade represents a 21.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ava Harter sold 6,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.66, for a total value of $1,554,546.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 53,205 shares in the company, valued at $13,762,005.30. This trade represents a 10.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,339 shares of company stock worth $27,680,267. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Lam Research Stock Performance

Lam Research stock opened at $329.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.54. The company has a market capitalization of $412.59 billion, a PE ratio of 62.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $336.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.32. Lam Research Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $90.93 and a fifty-two week high of $438.50.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.70 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 66.21% and a net margin of 30.94%.Lam Research's revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Lam Research has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lam Research Corporation will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Lam Research's dividend payout ratio is 19.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LRCX. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Lam Research from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Lam Research from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Lam Research from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Lam Research in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $350.81.

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.

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.