Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 1% - What's Next?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $86.70 and last traded at $87.82. 3,443,990 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 22,675,899 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. China Renaissance cut Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $84.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.76.

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Micron Technology Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $94.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.25. 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 $83.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $1,442,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

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