Zacks Investment Management Increases Holdings in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) by 5,135.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,069 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 103,062 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Micron Technology were worth $10,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MU. Harmony Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Micron Technology by 75.6% during the third quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 241.7% during the third quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 41,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $4,252,000 after acquiring an additional 29,000 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Micron Technology by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 195,115 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $20,236,000 after purchasing an additional 40,802 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Micron Technology by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 51,832 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $5,375,000 after purchasing an additional 9,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Micron Technology by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $5,001,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,568 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ MU traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $101.17. 12,353,099 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,871,555. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.71 billion, a PE ratio of 148.78 and a beta of 1.16. Micron Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $72.99 and a one year high of $157.54. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $103.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.21. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.21) EPS. Micron Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 93.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James increased their target price on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $552,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,348,790. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% 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.