Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading 1.5% Higher - Time to Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $103.77 and last traded at $103.83. 5,068,283 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 23,463,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. China Renaissance downgraded shares of Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $84.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $112.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.20.

Micron Technology Stock Up 2.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $118.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.63 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50 day moving average is $83.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insider Activity at Micron Technology

In other Micron Technology news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $192,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,996,320. This trade represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MU. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Micron Technology by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Micron Technology by 583.3% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 410 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. 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.