Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Up 5% - Here's Why

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shot up 5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $75.40 and last traded at $73.69. 10,495,048 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 23,173,388 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Micron Technology from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.56.

Micron Technology Stock Up 3.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $89.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.71 and a 200-day moving average of $94.89.

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 net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The business had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Micron Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $223,403.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $1,442,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 36,378 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 8,780 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 14,178 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,193,000 after buying an additional 4,264 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $569,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 167.0% during the fourth quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 45,758 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,851,000 after acquiring an additional 28,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 502,374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $42,280,000 after acquiring an additional 52,729 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company's stock.

About Micron Technology

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.