Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Up 2.2% – Here’s Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s share price was up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $112.04 and last traded at $111.00. Approximately 11,388,053 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 21,404,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MU shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Micron Technology from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.21.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $103.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.12. 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 firm has a market cap of $121.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 160.61 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is 67.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $552,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,830 shares in the company, valued at $15,348,790. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 42.5% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,299 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,941 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in Micron Technology by 3.9% during the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,804 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in Micron Technology during the second quarter worth about $447,000. Finally, Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Micron Technology in the second quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.