Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Up 2.1% After Earnings Beat

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $104.69 and last traded at $104.25. 7,513,271 shares were traded 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 11.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MU shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. KGI Securities raised shares of Micron Technology to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $91.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.63.

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Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In other 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $554,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 350,612 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $29,507,000 after acquiring an additional 32,502 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in shares of Micron Technology by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 38,002 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in shares of Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at $6,060,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 52.2% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 44,357 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $3,733,000 after purchasing an additional 15,216 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Micron Technology Trading Down 8.0 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.82 and a 200 day moving average of $98.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Micron Technology Company Profile

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.