Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 2.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) dropped 2.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $93.79 and last traded at $95.54. Approximately 6,669,736 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 22,107,545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.96.

Micron Technology Stock Down 6.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.92. The stock has a market cap of $102.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is currently 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 that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total value of $416,676.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MU. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 1,096.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.