Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 0.1% - Here's Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 0.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $84.84 and last traded at $85.06. Approximately 4,583,789 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 23,209,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.48.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $82.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.22. The firm has a market cap of $95.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Micron Technology's quarterly revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Micron Technology news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $192,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,996,320. This represents a 8.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $1,442,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,847,482.42. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,808 shares of company stock valued at $1,858,424 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,857,205 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $8,403,982,000 after buying an additional 888,087 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Capital World Investors lifted 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,449,827 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $2,052,973,000 after purchasing an additional 726,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $1,470,875,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company's stock.

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.

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