Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 2.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) fell 2.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $100.31 and last traded at $101.80. 19,275,679 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average session volume of 16,107,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MU. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Micron Technology from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Micron Technology from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.04.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $112.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.71 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.90.

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

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.45%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the company’s 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 sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,749 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 39.8% during the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 330 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Micron Technology by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,625 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 272 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

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.