Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Up 5% - Time to Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) shares were up 5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $75.40 and last traded at $73.69. Approximately 10,495,048 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 23,173,388 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MU. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. China Renaissance cut Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.56.

Micron Technology Trading Up 5.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $82.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were 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 was Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology's payout ratio is currently 11.03%.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now owns 27,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Micron Technology

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Micron Technology by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the first quarter worth $33,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 306.1% in the 1st quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 398 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company's stock.

Micron Technology Company Profile

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.

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