Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 317,213 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock, valued at approximately $26,898,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MU. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $1,470,875,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 339.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,255,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock valued at $189,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,073 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $135,865,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,723,545 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $2,451,987,000 after buying an additional 892,607 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Micron Technology by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,857,205 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer's stock worth $8,403,982,000 after buying an additional 888,087 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company's stock.

Micron Technology Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of MU traded down $2.71 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.66. The company had a trading volume of 26,933,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,815,383. The stock has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company's 50 day moving average price is $92.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.09. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.54 and a 52 week high of $157.54.

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Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Micron Technology's payout ratio is 11.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $223,403.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MU. China Renaissance downgraded Micron Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $84.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on Micron Technology from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Micron Technology from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.76.

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.