Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Acquired by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its stake in Micron Technology by 7.0% during the first quarter, owning 46,000 shares worth approximately $3.996 million at the quarter's end.
• Several other investors significantly boosted their holdings in Micron Technology, including CIBC Private Wealth Group which increased its position by 43.0% and Janus Henderson Group raising its stake by 74.6%.
• Micron Technology recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $1.91 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.57, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in Micron Technology were worth $3,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 100.0% during the first quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Micron Technology by 306.1% during the first quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 398 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.84% of the company's stock.

Micron Technology Trading Down 5.7%

MU traded down $6.52 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $108.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,397,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,232,445. Micron Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.54 and a fifty-two week high of $129.85. The stock has a market cap of $121.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50 and a beta of 1.35. The business's 50-day moving average is $113.85 and its 200-day moving average is $97.84. 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 the consensus estimate of $8.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Micron Technology news, 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 transaction of $11,625,142.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.28, for a total transaction of $291,557.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,734,864. This trade represents a 9.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 288,446 shares of company stock worth $34,871,597 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MU shares. Wall Street Zen raised Micron Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.44.

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.