Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading 2.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares rose 2.2% during 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 trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 21,404,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MU. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $172.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on Micron Technology from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.21.

Micron Technology Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 160.61 and a beta of 1.16.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.21) earnings per share. Micron Technology’s revenue was up 93.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was 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 directly owns 135,830 shares in the company, valued at $15,348,790. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harmony Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 75.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 241.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 41,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $4,252,000 after acquiring an additional 29,000 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 40,802 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 3.1% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 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 valued at $5,375,000 after purchasing an additional 9,735 shares in 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.