Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Holdings Increased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,255,931 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock after purchasing an additional 52,912 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Micron Technology worth $130,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $5,001,592,000 after buying an additional 1,434,568 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 0.6% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 37,631,860 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $3,902,800,000 after purchasing an additional 206,499 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,723,545 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $2,451,987,000 after purchasing an additional 892,607 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 21.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,326,224 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $1,174,643,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Micron Technology by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,564,198 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $1,109,769,000 after buying an additional 2,477,985 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $552,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,348,790. This trade represents a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Micron Technology Price Performance

MU stock opened at $90.12 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $103.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.67. The firm has a market cap of $100.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.53 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.64. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.15 and a 1 year high of $157.54.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 3.10%. The business's revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. Micron Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MU. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $132.26.

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.