Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s stock price shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $107.75 and last traded at $107.22. 5,808,713 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 24,632,424 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MU. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Micron Technology in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $148.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $116.81 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MU. Harmony Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 75.6% during the third quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. grew its position in Micron Technology by 241.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 41,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,252,000 after purchasing an additional 29,000 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Micron Technology by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 195,115 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $20,236,000 after purchasing an additional 40,802 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Micron Technology by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,001,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 23.1% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 51,832 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,375,000 after buying an additional 9,735 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

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.