Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Here’s Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s stock price was down 1.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $67.92 and last traded at $69.88. Approximately 7,954,263 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 23,225,666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MU. China Renaissance cut shares of Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Micron Technology from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.36.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $75.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.57.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $1,442,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,482.42. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $223,403.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Micron Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Roxbury Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 306.1% in the 1st quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 398 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.