Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 3.2% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Micron Technology shares experienced a significant decline of 3.2%, closing at $121.22, with trading volume down 66% compared to its average.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for Micron, with KeyCorp raising its target to $160.00, while KGI Securities downgraded the stock to a "hold" rating.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share, reflecting a 0.4% dividend yield and a dividend payout ratio of 8.29%.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shares fell 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $119.44 and last traded at $121.22. 7,910,171 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 23,052,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $125.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. KGI Securities downgraded shares of Micron Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Arete Research raised shares of Micron Technology to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Micron Technology from $98.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.24.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $135.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.75.

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

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Manish H. Bhatia sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.16, for a total transaction of $9,852,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sumit Sadana sold 92,638 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.49, for a total transaction of $11,625,142.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 201,326 shares in the company, valued at $25,264,399.74. This represents a 31.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 286,042 shares of company stock worth $34,679,277 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 85,722 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $7,214,000 after buying an additional 13,985 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,494 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,683 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 220,722 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $18,576,000 after acquiring an additional 8,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in Micron Technology by 112.7% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 15,383 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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