Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Up 3.1% - What's Next?

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) were up 3.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $105.88 and last traded at $105.75. Approximately 18,832,956 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 29,325,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MU has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reduced their price target on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Up 0.4 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.92 and a 200-day moving average of $101.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.95) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.42%. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio is 13.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 145,716 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $12,263,000 after purchasing an additional 9,180 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Micron Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $655,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 400,467 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $33,704,000 after buying an additional 46,594 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $846,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 17,810 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 3,656 shares during the last quarter. 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.