Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $48.54 Million Stock Position in Micron Technology, Inc. $MU

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its Micron stake by 5.5% to 170,071 shares, leaving a position valued at $48.54 million at the end of the quarter.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Buy" and a $478.24 average target, while several firms raised price targets (e.g., TD Cowen to $660, JPMorgan to $550, RBC to $525).
• Insiders sold significant stock (EVP Sumit Sadana sold 24,000 shares for about $10.11M; EVP April Arnzen sold 40,000 shares for about $13.90M), and Micron raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 (annualized $0.60, ~0.1% yield).

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co decreased its stake in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,071 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after selling 9,900 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Micron Technology were worth $48,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Micron Technology by 18.7% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 146,890 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $24,578,000 after buying an additional 23,117 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Micron Technology by 9.8% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 95,396 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $15,962,000 after buying an additional 8,489 shares in the last quarter. Generation Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the third quarter valued at $238,000. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 251.0% during the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 23,086 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,863,000 after acquiring an additional 16,509 shares during the period. Finally, Avanda Investment Management Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the third quarter valued at $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MU shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Micron Technology from $550.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Erste Group Bank cut Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Micron Technology from $350.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $350.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $425.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $478.24.

Insider Activity

In other Micron Technology news, EVP Sumit Sadana sold 24,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.35, for a total transaction of $10,112,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 224,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $94,391,248.35. The trade was a 9.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.39, for a total value of $13,895,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,679,776.43. This represents a 24.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MU opened at $542.21 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $611.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60 and a beta of 1.91. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.54 and a 1-year high of $545.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $422.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $338.52.

Micron Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from Micron Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.83%.

About Micron Technology

Micron Technology, Inc is a global semiconductor company that designs and manufactures memory and storage solutions. Its product portfolio includes dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, solid-state drives (SSDs), memory modules and embedded memory solutions for a wide range of computing and electronic devices. Micron supplies components used in data centers, enterprise and cloud infrastructure, client computing, mobile devices, automotive systems and industrial applications, and also markets consumer-facing products under the Crucial brand.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Boise, Idaho, Micron has grown into an international manufacturer with research, development and production facilities across multiple regions.

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