Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Micron Technology's stock hit a new 52-week high at $201.00 following an upgrade from Morgan Stanley, which raised its price target from $160.00 to $220.00.
• Insider sales were notable, with CEO Sanjay Mehrotra selling 15,000 shares at approximately $180.86, decreasing his ownership by 4.61%.
• Micron announced a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.2%, with the dividend payout scheduled for October 21st.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. Morgan Stanley now has a $220.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $160.00. Micron Technology traded as high as $201.00 and last traded at $190.96, with a volume of 36299311 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.83.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, CLSA started coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.08.

Insider Activity

In other Micron Technology news, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.86, for a total value of $2,712,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 310,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,093,367.28. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.04, for a total transaction of $2,460,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 131,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,584,383.20. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,456 shares of company stock worth $15,698,445 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,235 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. SilverOak Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. SilverOak Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 6,805 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 19,271 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.84% of the company's stock.

Micron Technology Trading Up 1.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $213.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $136.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 6.06%.

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.

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