EULAV Asset Management Sells 52,000 Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

EULAV Asset Management reduced its holdings in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) by 57.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 52,000 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management's holdings in Micron Technology were worth $3,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MU. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,470,875,000. Capital World Investors grew 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 12,249,341 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Micron Technology by 139.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,281,620 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,370,280,000 after acquiring an additional 9,489,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in Micron Technology by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,437,080 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,383,442,000 after acquiring an additional 4,375,232 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $146.21.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

Micron Technology stock traded down $2.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $122.24. The company had a trading volume of 20,428,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,308,471. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.54 and a 52 week high of $136.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.25 and a 200-day moving average of $95.45. The firm has a market cap of $136.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio is 8.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.12, for a total transaction of $1,876,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 148,167 shares in the company, valued at $18,538,655.04. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sumit Sadana sold 92,638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was 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 $25,264,399.74. This trade represents a 31.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,446 shares of company stock worth $31,154,717. Insiders own 0.30% 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.