Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 3.1% - Here's Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) traded down 3.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $115.95 and last traded at $116.36. 10,470,997 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 23,257,861 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Micron Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $172.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.44.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $110.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $128.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62 and a beta of 1.35.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.83 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 13.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.29%.

Insider Activity at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP Manish H. Bhatia sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total value of $9,852,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 275,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,877,251.72. This trade represents a 22.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 148,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,538,655.04. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,446 shares of company stock valued at $31,154,717 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Micron Technology by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.