Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Down 7.8% - Time to Sell?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 7.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $70.02 and last traded at $71.77. Approximately 13,582,099 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 23,086,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Micron Technology from $91.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.36.

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Micron Technology Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average is $90.66 and its 200-day moving average is $97.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share 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. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Micron Technology news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,482.42. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Micron Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Micron Technology by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 80.84% of the stock is currently 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.