Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Up 3.8% – Still a Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares were up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $87.38 and last traded at $87.37. Approximately 6,898,802 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 21,944,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MU has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America cut Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Micron Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $67.00 in a 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

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 50-day moving average price of $99.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.29. The firm has a market cap of $100.13 billion, a PE ratio of 132.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is 13.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of Micron Technology 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Micron Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Micron Technology by 1,096.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 261.1% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 325 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in Micron Technology by 602.2% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.