Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Up 5.9% – Still a Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s share price traded up 5.9% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $105.05 and last traded at $105.39. 9,407,942 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 22,819,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MU shares. Bank of America downgraded Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $148.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $180.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Micron Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.96.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $118.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.53.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.95) EPS. Micron Technology’s revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is presently 13.26%.

Insider Activity at Micron Technology

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total value of $416,676.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 1,096.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Micron Technology by 261.1% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 325 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.