Clearline Capital LP Takes $26.39 Million Position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Clearline Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 313,553 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $26,389,000. Micron Technology accounts for about 3.5% of Clearline Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 103.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,255,931 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $130,253,000 after purchasing an additional 52,912 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 286,363 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $24,327,000 after buying an additional 16,622 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Micron Technology by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 577,737 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $48,622,000 after acquiring an additional 259,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 240,423 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $20,234,000 after purchasing an additional 14,499 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MU opened at $82.76 on Thursday. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.54 and a 52-week high of $157.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.39.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. Micron Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $192,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,954 shares in the company, valued at $1,996,320. The trade was a 8.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,808 shares of company stock valued at $1,858,424 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MU. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $125.00 target price on Micron Technology in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.48.

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.