Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Down 0.1% Following Insider Selling

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $88.10 and last traded at $89.15. Approximately 4,495,905 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 21,926,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.28.

Specifically, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total transaction of $416,676.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. This trade represents a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.24.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $101.17 and its 200-day moving average is $107.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.34 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.95) earnings per share. Micron Technology’s revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current 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 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the third quarter worth $26,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Micron Technology during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 1,096.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Micron Technology by 261.1% in 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 during the period. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 602.2% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 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.