Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 0.6% – What’s Next?

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) fell 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $97.37 and last traded at $98.09. 3,084,815 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 23,435,017 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. KGI Securities raised shares of Micron Technology to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $112.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.48.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.19 and a 200 day moving average of $92.55.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. Micron Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.03%.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $1,442,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,808 shares of company stock valued at $1,858,424 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $1,470,875,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,096,391 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,458,673,000 after buying an additional 15,993,036 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 47,672,462 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,012,114,000 after acquiring an additional 12,249,341 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Micron Technology by 139.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,281,620 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,370,280,000 after acquiring an additional 9,489,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,437,080 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,383,442,000 after acquiring an additional 4,375,232 shares during the last quarter. 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.