Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 1.1% - Here's What Happened

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $102.34 and last traded at $103.19. 4,470,614 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 22,727,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MU. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $175.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.96.

Micron Technology Trading Down 4.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company's fifty day moving average is $96.35 and its 200-day moving average is $98.70. The stock has a market cap of $110.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.95) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the firm'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 owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. This trade represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MU. Swedbank AB grew its position in Micron Technology by 30.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,455,819 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $358,403,000 after buying an additional 806,639 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 22.4% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,481 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,999 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the third quarter valued at about $147,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 13.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 85,125 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $8,828,000 after purchasing an additional 10,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.84% of the company's stock.

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.