Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) were down 1.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $98.30 and last traded at $100.28. Approximately 13,295,042 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 29,070,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Micron Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Micron Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.05 billion, a PE ratio of 146.58 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Micron Technology by 30.6% during 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 buying an additional 2,477,985 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 21.7% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 2,022,180 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Micron Technology by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,001,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,568 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,859,416 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $192,840,000 after buying an additional 1,334,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 1,233.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,430,619 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $145,470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323,352 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.