Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 2.9% – Here’s Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares traded down 2.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $100.31 and last traded at $101.48. 5,407,805 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 21,439,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $148.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.04.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.41 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.21) earnings per share. Micron Technology’s revenue was up 93.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $552,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,348,790. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MU. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,749 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC increased its position in Micron Technology by 39.8% in the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 330 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,625 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc. raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 4.2% in the third quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 272 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Micron Technology Company Profile

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.