Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 2.2% - What's Next?

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) traded down 2.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $100.41 and last traded at $100.96. 3,979,412 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 22,462,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MU shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Micron Technology from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Micron Technology from $180.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" 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 assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.96.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $110.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50 day moving average is $96.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.76.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. The firm 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 period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.95) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors 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.