Acadian Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) by 487.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 132,882 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 110,271 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Micron Technology were worth $15,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Micron Technology by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,666,590 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $11,396,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,815 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 22,583,348 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,927,263,000 after acquiring an additional 503,923 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,905,621 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,357,392,000 after acquiring an additional 363,902 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Micron Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $769,372,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Micron Technology by 28.9% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,566,572 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $892,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,876 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Stock Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ MU traded down $3.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $114.26. 18,038,924 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,122,340. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.75 and a 12 month high of $157.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.70 billion, a PE ratio of -80.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.26.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.14. Micron Technology had a negative return on equity of 4.01% and a negative net margin of 7.20%. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.57) EPS. Micron Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 81.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently -32.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MU. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $155.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Micron Technology from $144.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.72.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.86, for a total value of $664,355.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 142,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,335,731.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Sumit Sadana sold 13,239 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.77, for a total value of $1,572,396.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 260,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,981,985.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.86, for a total transaction of $664,355.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 142,321 shares in the company, valued at $19,335,731.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 243,730 shares of company stock worth $30,218,549. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.