Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) will raise its quarterly dividend by fifty percent from $0.30 to $0.45 per share in Q4 of 2016.

The increased dividend payment has been declared and will be made on January 4, 2017 to holders of record on December 14, 2016. Also, Lam announced the authorization to buy back up to $1 billion of common stock.

"Our expanded, $1.3 billion capital return program is strong validation of the Board’s confidence in our financial performance and strong cash generation capability," stated Martin Anstice, president and chief executive officer of Lam Research. "As we execute on the outstanding business opportunities in front of us, we remain committed to augmenting returns to stockholders through the combination of opportunistic share repurchases and a bias towards growing our dividend over time.”

Today's dividend increase by Lam Research indicates an annualized rate of $1.80 per common share and a yield of approximately 1.7% based on the $104.71 closing price on November 18, 2016.

Lam Research Corporation is a supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. The company's products are used in a variety of electronic products, including mobile phones, personal computers, servers, wearables, automotive devices, storage devices, and networking equipment.  Lam's customer base includes leading semiconductor memory, foundry, and integrated device manufacturers that make products such as non-volatile memory, DRAM memory, and logic devices. Incorporated in 1980, Lam Research is headquartered in Fremont, California. The company has a network of facilities throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. Lam Research initiated its dividend in 2014, and has increased it annually ever since.