StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU – Get Rating) in a report published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Raymond James began coverage on Micron Technology in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. They issued an outperform rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Micron Technology from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 22nd. Finally, Argus cut Micron Technology from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, December 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $66.26.

Micron Technology Price Performance

MU stock opened at $56.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 3.51 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 1.39. Micron Technology has a 1 year low of $48.43 and a 1 year high of $86.24.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 21st. The semiconductor manufacturer reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 13.26%. Micron Technology’s revenue for the quarter was down 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Micron Technology will post -2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 30th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Scott J. Deboer sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.40, for a total transaction of $1,068,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 228,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,193,356. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Scott J. Deboer sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.40, for a total value of $1,068,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 228,340 shares in the company, valued at $12,193,356. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert P. Beard sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total transaction of $183,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 42,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,623,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,982,190 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 551 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Elequin Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 207.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 706 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the period. 78.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Micron Technology

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Micron Technology, Inc engages in the provision of innovative memory and storage solutions. It operates through the following segments: Compute & Networking Business Unit (CNBU), Mobile Business Unit (MBU), Storage Business Unit (SBU), and Embedded Business Unit (EBU). The CNBU segment includes memory products sold into cloud server, enterprise, client, graphics, and networking markets.