Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 1.6% After Insider Selling

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s stock price dropped 1.6% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $87.58 and last traded at $88.37. Approximately 4,909,996 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 21,897,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.82.

Specifically, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total value of $416,676.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at $15,442,011.83. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James increased their price target on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $114.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.24.

Micron Technology Trading Down 1.7 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.54. The firm has a market cap of $98.41 billion, a PE ratio of 129.90 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.64.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MU. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the third quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 1,096.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 261.1% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 325 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 602.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently 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.