Analysts Set Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) PT at $135.24

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $135.24.

Several research firms have weighed in on MU. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Micron Technology in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $148.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Micron Technology Price Performance

MU stock opened at $89.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $100.13 billion, a PE ratio of 132.16 and a beta of 1.18. Micron Technology has a one year low of $79.15 and a one year high of $157.54.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Micron Technology will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total value of $416,676.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,001,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,568 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 37,631,860 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,902,800,000 after buying an additional 206,499 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,723,545 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,451,987,000 after acquiring an additional 892,607 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Micron Technology by 21.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,326,224 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,174,643,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 30.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,564,198 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,109,769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477,985 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.