Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading 4.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s stock price rose 4.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $72.46 and last traded at $67.83. Approximately 20,259,501 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 22,783,698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. China Renaissance cut shares of Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.76.

Micron Technology Stock Up 18.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.69. The firm has a market cap of $87.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $223,403.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $1,442,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 108,403 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $11,243,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493 shares during the period. Executive Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the third quarter valued at about $591,000. Sender Co & Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 652.8% in the third quarter. Sender Co & Partners Inc. now owns 12,783 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 11,085 shares in the last quarter. Savoie Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 36.7% in the third quarter. Savoie Capital LLC now owns 84,863 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $8,801,000 after acquiring an additional 22,800 shares during the period. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Micron Technology by 38.1% during the third quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,069 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,400,000 after acquiring an additional 14,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

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.