Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading 2.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) rose 2.2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $191.85 and last traded at $187.83. Approximately 29,309,125 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 26% from the average daily volume of 23,322,322 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MU has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Micron Technology from $185.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. KGI Securities raised Micron Technology from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Micron Technology from $173.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.77.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $210.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $134.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.06%.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In related news, Director Richard M. Beyer sold 5,552 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.68, for a total transaction of $864,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 96,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,950,106.08. This trade represents a 5.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.67, for a total value of $278,070.68. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,330,287.82. The trade was a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,456 shares of company stock valued at $15,698,445. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MU. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 19,475 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 3,593 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 48.4% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,965 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in Micron Technology in the 1st quarter valued at $577,000. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 13,322 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is 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.