Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Up 4.8% - Here's Why

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shot up 4.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $72.46 and last traded at $67.83. 20,259,501 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 22,783,698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MU. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, China Renaissance downgraded Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $84.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $129.76.

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Micron Technology Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.27. The company has a market cap of $77.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.72.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The business had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at $2,542,378.94. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $1,442,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,482.42. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MU. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Micron Technology by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Micron Technology in the fourth 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.