Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Up 5.9% – Here’s Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares traded up 5.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $105.05 and last traded at $105.39. 9,407,942 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 22,819,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MU. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Micron Technology from $175.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $180.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.96.

Micron Technology Price Performance

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 capitalization of $115.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.76 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.67.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The business’s revenue was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total transaction of $416,676.90. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stonebrook Private Inc. lifted its stake in Micron Technology by 4.2% in the third quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 2.5% in the third quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 4,063 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 600 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 2.4% during the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,382 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Xcel Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,157 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.