Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Up 5.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Micron Technology's stock rose by 5.8% following an upgrade from UBS Group, which raised its price target from $195 to $225 and maintains a buy rating on the stock.
• Insider transactions reveal significant sales, with Director Richard M. Beyer selling over 5,000 shares, representing a decrease of 5.47% in his stake, as well as EVP April S. Arnzen selling 15,000 shares.
• Micron recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.2% for shareholders as of October 3rd.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $195.00 to $225.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Micron Technology traded as high as $196.95 and last traded at $196.54. 25,896,822 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 23,407,570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.69.

Several other research analysts have also commented on MU. CLSA initiated 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. Arete Research upgraded shares of Micron Technology to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Micron Technology from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Monday. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $163.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Micron Technology currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.48.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In other news, Director Richard M. Beyer sold 5,552 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.68, for a total value of $864,335.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 96,031 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,950,106.08. The trade was a 5.47% decrease in their position. 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 Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.04, for a total value of $2,460,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 131,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,584,383.20. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,956 shares of company stock valued at $22,841,025. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,974 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $2,505,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,235 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. SilverOak Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. SilverOak Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 6,805 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $137.96 and a 200-day moving average of $112.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.56.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

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

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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