Vista Capital Partners Inc. Acquires New Position in Micron Technology, Inc. $MU

Key Points

• Vista Capital Partners bought a new stake of 3,302 shares in Micron in Q4, valued at roughly $942,000, and institutional investors now own about 80.84% of the stock.
• Several analysts have raised targets (e.g., Cantor Fitzgerald to $700, Barclays to $675), leaving Micron with a consensus "Buy" rating and an average price target of $478.24.
• Micron raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 ($0.60 annualized, ~0.1% yield), while insiders sold sizable stakes—EVP April S. Arnzen sold 40,000 shares and EVP Sumit Sadana sold 24,000 shares—reducing their ownership.

Vista Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,302 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $942,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MU. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $24,578,000 after purchasing an additional 23,117 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 9.8% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 95,396 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $15,962,000 after purchasing an additional 8,489 shares during the last quarter. Generation Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the third quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Westpac Banking Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 16,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanda Investment Management Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the third quarter valued at approximately $418,000. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Micron Technology from $450.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Micron Technology in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Micron Technology from $470.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Micron Technology from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Micron Technology from $450.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Micron Technology currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $478.24.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

MU opened at $542.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $611.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.32. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $78.54 and a 1-year high of $545.91. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. This is a positive change from Micron Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 30th. Micron Technology's payout ratio is currently 2.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,737 shares in the company, valued at $43,679,776.43. This represents a 24.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Sumit Sadana sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.35, for a total value of $10,112,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 224,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $94,391,248.35. This trade represents a 9.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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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