Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Down 2.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Micron Technology's stock price fell by 2.8% recently, trading at $161.71 after reaching a low of $158.30, with trading volume increasing significantly to over 56 million shares.
• Analysts have issued optimistic new price targets for Micron, with upgrades from multiple firms including an increase from $200 to $250 by Rosenblatt Securities, along with a consensus target price of $184.77.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share, indicating a modest annualized dividend yield of 0.3%, with a low payout ratio of 8.29%.

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) dropped 2.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $158.30 and last traded at $161.71. Approximately 56,521,622 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 145% from the average daily volume of 23,076,439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MU shares. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Thursday, August 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Micron Technology from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.77.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $180.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 8.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In other Micron Technology news, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 13,798 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.20, for a total value of $2,238,035.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,739,005.60. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Manish H. Bhatia sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 275,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,877,251.72. This represents a 22.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 255,946 shares of company stock worth $32,306,159 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 976 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Micron Technology by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 85,722 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $7,214,000 after buying an additional 13,985 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $116,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 25,054 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $2,111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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