Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Up 4.5% - Time to Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shares traded up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $124.56 and last traded at $125.35. 8,060,585 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 23,235,935 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Micron Technology from $163.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.21.

Micron Technology Trading Up 3.8%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.26. The firm has a market cap of $139.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.89.

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

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is currently 8.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.12, for a total value of $1,876,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 148,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,538,655.04. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott J. Deboer sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $2,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 186,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,498,830. This trade represents a 9.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,446 shares of company stock valued at $31,154,717. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Roxbury Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 306.1% during the first quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 398 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 100.0% during the first quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.