Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Up 0.2% - Time to Buy?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $100.56 and last traded at $99.85. 4,204,834 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 21,867,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James raised their target price on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Micron Technology from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Micron Technology from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.04.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.84 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $99.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.42.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.21) EPS. The company's revenue was up 93.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 67.65%.

Insider Activity at Micron Technology

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $552,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,348,790. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Micron Technology during the third quarter worth $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 128.6% during the second quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 256 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 261.1% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 325 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 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.