Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 2.5% – Here’s Why

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) dropped 2.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $98.30 and last traded at $99.41. Approximately 33,454,488 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 33,138,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MU shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Micron Technology from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, 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. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $98.68 and its 200-day moving average is $103.69. The company has a market cap of $110.68 billion, a PE ratio of 146.09 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.95) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harmony Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,120 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $4,252,000 after buying an additional 29,000 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Micron Technology by 26.4% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 195,115 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $20,236,000 after buying an additional 40,802 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted 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 valued at $5,001,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434,568 shares during the period. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 51,832 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,375,000 after acquiring an additional 9,735 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is 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.