Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Down 0.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) were down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $102.10 and last traded at $102.53. Approximately 4,379,314 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 21,342,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MU shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. BNP Paribas cut Micron Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Micron Technology from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Micron Technology from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.04.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $103.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.78 and a beta of 1.16.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.21) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 93.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $552,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,348,790. This represents a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MU. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,001,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,568 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 37,631,860 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $3,902,800,000 after purchasing an additional 206,499 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,723,545 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $2,451,987,000 after purchasing an additional 892,607 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,326,224 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,174,643,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,564,198 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,109,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477,985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.