Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Up 5.4% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shot up 5.4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $74.78 and last traded at $73.29. 11,777,027 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 23,197,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America cut Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $125.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.36.

Micron Technology Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.57. 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 cap of $79.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Micron Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 583.3% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 410 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 80.84% of the stock is 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.