Argent Trust Co Boosts Stock Position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co increased its stake in Micron Technology by 6.7%, owning 56,226 shares valued at approximately $4.89 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Micron Technology reported earnings of $1.91 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and had revenue of $9.30 billion.
• Wall Street analysts are generally optimistic, with several raising their price targets for Micron Technology, forecasting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.44.

Argent Trust Co lifted its position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 56,226 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,512 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co's holdings in Micron Technology were worth $4,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,062 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,062 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,941,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Orca Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 1.5% during the first quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,485 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 4.0% in the first quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,443 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,561 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

MU stock traded down $4.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $104.88. 23,950,731 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,128,400. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.54 and a 1 year high of $129.85. The company has a market cap of $117.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $114.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.34. Micron Technology had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 13.60%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. Micron Technology's payout ratio is currently 8.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MU. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $98.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $95.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $172.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $163.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.44.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In other Micron Technology news, EVP Scott J. Deboer sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $2,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 186,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,498,830. This trade represents a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Manish H. Bhatia sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total transaction of $9,852,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 275,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,877,251.72. This represents a 22.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 286,042 shares of company stock worth $34,679,277 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Micron Technology 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.