Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Up 2.1% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares traded up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $104.69 and last traded at $104.25. 7,513,271 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 22,660,624 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.06.

The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Micron Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on Micron Technology from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Micron Technology to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $223,403.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MU. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 602.2% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Micron Technology by 1,096.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.21. The firm has a market cap of $105.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.72.

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.