Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 1.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) were down 1.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $98.30 and last traded at $100.28. Approximately 13,295,042 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 29,070,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $180.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Micron Technology from $175.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Micron Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Down 2.2 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $98.79 and a 200 day moving average of $104.03. 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 cap of $111.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.58 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 3.10%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total transaction of $416,676.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

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

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.