Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Needham & Company LLC from $120.00 to $150.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor manufacturer's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MU. Wedbush lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. China Renaissance cut Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $84.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Micron Technology from $112.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Micron Technology from $172.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.21.

Micron Technology Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MU traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $124.76. The company had a trading volume of 36,813,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,366,998. Micron Technology has a 1-year low of $61.54 and a 1-year high of $137.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 3.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm's 50 day moving average is $98.71 and its 200-day moving average is $94.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48 and a beta of 1.28.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.34. Micron Technology had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Micron Technology will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 148,167 shares in the company, valued at $18,538,655.04. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott J. Deboer sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $2,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 186,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,498,830. The trade was a 9.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,404 shares of company stock worth $8,509,167. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Roxbury Financial LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.