Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Down 2.6% - Here's Why

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $94.20 and last traded at $94.44. Approximately 7,446,097 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 22,731,537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MU. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen lowered 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. KGI Securities upgraded Micron Technology to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.76.

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Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $96.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.36. The company has a market capitalization of $98.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34 and a beta of 1.23.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $1,442,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $223,403.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at $2,542,378.94. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $1,470,875,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 41,096,391 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $3,458,673,000 after buying an additional 15,993,036 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 47,672,462 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $4,012,114,000 after buying an additional 12,249,341 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 139.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,281,620 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,370,280,000 after acquiring an additional 9,489,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,437,080 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,383,442,000 after acquiring an additional 4,375,232 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by 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.