Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Up 3.3% - Still a Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $80.53 and last traded at $80.32. Approximately 5,073,867 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 23,211,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wedbush restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $130.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.04.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $90.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.00. 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 results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Micron Technology in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its position in Micron Technology by 583.3% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 410 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.