Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading 2.6% Higher - Here's Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shares were up 2.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $100.92 and last traded at $100.76. Approximately 6,422,038 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 23,442,749 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MU shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Micron Technology to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.20.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $121.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $83.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.13.

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

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,996,320. This trade represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MU. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,208 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 50,887 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $4,283,000 after buying an additional 3,268 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 3,183 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,609 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the period. 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.