Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Trading Up 4.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s stock price traded up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $165.80 and last traded at $163.90. 25,739,321 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 23,193,264 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.27.

MU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $185.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Micron Technology from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Micron Technology from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Micron Technology from $170.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $184.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Micron Technology

In related news, CFO Mark J. Murphy sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.32, for a total transaction of $3,716,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 264,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,864,415.52. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 13,798 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.20, for a total transaction of $2,238,035.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 325,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,739,005.60. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,456 shares of company stock valued at $10,524,945 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 195.2% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 15,650 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,360,000 after buying an additional 10,348 shares during the period. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 331.3% in the first quarter. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. now owns 79,788 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $6,933,000 after acquiring an additional 61,288 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the first quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,089 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 3,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 14,238 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 5,220 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Stock Up 4.2%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $129.31 and its 200 day moving average is $108.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market cap of $183.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.47.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is presently 6.06%.

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.