Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd Has $16.20 Million Stock Position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 156,216 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 54,978 shares during the period. Micron Technology makes up about 1.5% of Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd’s holdings in Micron Technology were worth $16,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MU. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 330 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,625 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 4.2% in the third quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 57.2% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 272 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E&G Advisors LP increased its position in Micron Technology by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 2,015 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $165.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James increased their price target on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Micron Technology from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.04.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MU stock opened at $99.84 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $103.82 and its 200 day moving average is $110.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.83 and a beta of 1.16. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.93 and a 12 month high of $157.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.65 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 3.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 93.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.21) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is 67.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $552,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,348,790. This trade represents a 3.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.