Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 1.4% - What's Next?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $63.70 and last traded at $64.64. Approximately 11,564,190 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 22,904,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $125.00 price target on Micron Technology in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 Friday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $129.36.

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Micron Technology Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.75. The firm has a market cap of $80.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Micron Technology news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 583.3% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 410 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 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.