Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 2.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) traded down 2.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $96.90 and last traded at $96.96. 4,589,895 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 21,615,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.04.

Micron Technology Stock Down 2.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.85. The company has a market capitalization of $106.84 billion, a PE ratio of 142.59 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.65 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 93.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.21) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $552,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,830 shares in the company, valued at $15,348,790. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MU. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 195,115 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $20,236,000 after buying an additional 40,802 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,931,811 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $227,741,000 after acquiring an additional 20,741 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 51,832 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,375,000 after acquiring an additional 9,735 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Micron Technology by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 163,272 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $16,933,000 after acquiring an additional 13,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. bought a new position in Micron Technology during the third quarter worth $1,270,000. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.