Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Up 2.6% - Here's What Happened

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shares shot up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $93.34 and last traded at $91.56. 5,994,190 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 21,849,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MU. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.96.

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Micron Technology Trading Up 4.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.99 and a 200 day moving average of $98.36. 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 has a market capitalization of $103.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total value of $416,676.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,442,011.83. This trade represents a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,542,378.94. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 1,096.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 602.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.