Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Up 2.1% Following Earnings Beat

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s share price rose 2.1% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $104.69 and last traded at $104.25. Approximately 7,513,271 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 22,660,624 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.06.

The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MU shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $91.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $223,403.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harmony Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 75.6% during the third quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 241.7% during the third quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 41,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,252,000 after acquiring an additional 29,000 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 36,378 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,062,000 after acquiring an additional 8,780 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $569,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,001,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434,568 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Stock Down 8.0 %

The company has a market cap of $105.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $96.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.21.

About Micron Technology

Micron Technology, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells memory and storage products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Compute and Networking Business Unit, Mobile Business Unit, Embedded Business Unit, and Storage Business Unit. It provides memory and storage technologies comprising dynamic random access memory semiconductor devices with low latency that provide high-speed data retrieval; non-volatile and re-writeable semiconductor storage devices; and non-volatile re-writable semiconductor memory devices that provide fast read speeds under the Micron and Crucial brands, as well as through private labels.