Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading 2.1% Higher After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s share price 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 changed 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The business had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MU. TD Cowen decreased 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Friday. KGI Securities upgraded Micron Technology to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $130.00 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, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.63.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Micron Technology in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Micron Technology Trading Down 8.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $105.53 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.21.

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.