KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Boosts Stake in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 379,505 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Micron Technology were worth $33,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MU. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 47,672,462 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $4,012,114,000 after purchasing an additional 12,249,341 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Micron Technology by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,096,391 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,458,673,000 after purchasing an additional 15,993,036 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Micron Technology by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,449,827 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $2,052,973,000 after purchasing an additional 726,282 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,470,875,000. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in Micron Technology by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,437,080 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,383,442,000 after purchasing an additional 4,375,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company's stock.

Micron Technology Price Performance

Micron Technology stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $111.20. 11,591,648 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,404,668. The company has a market cap of $124.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $112.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.50. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.54 and a 52-week high of $129.85.

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

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 8.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Manish H. Bhatia sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 275,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,877,251.72. This trade represents a 22.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sumit Sadana sold 92,638 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.49, for a total value of $11,625,142.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 201,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,264,399.74. This trade represents a 31.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 288,446 shares of company stock valued at $34,871,597 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MU shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $172.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $98.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.44.

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.