Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Lam Research Corporation $LRCX

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,159 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lam Research were worth $5,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Lam Research during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Lam Research in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lam Research in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Lam Research in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lam Research Stock Performance

Shares of LRCX stock opened at $171.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $160.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.01 billion, a PE ratio of 37.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.77. Lam Research Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.32 and a 52-week high of $179.80.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 60.60% and a net margin of 29.66%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.050-1.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lam Research Corporation will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. Lam Research’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LRCX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Lam Research from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Lam Research from $80.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lam Research from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Lam Research from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Vahid Vahedi sold 52,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.90, for a total transaction of $7,249,191.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 251,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,870,428.30. This represents a 17.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.60, for a total transaction of $6,036,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 987,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,677,892.20. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 102,608 shares of company stock worth $14,916,496 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.