Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $220.00 price target on the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $160.00.

MU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $163.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $185.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $187.08.

Micron Technology Stock Up 1.7%

Micron Technology stock opened at $190.96 on Monday. Micron Technology has a fifty-two week low of $61.54 and a fifty-two week high of $201.00. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.49. The stock has a market cap of $213.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.56.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.04, for a total value of $2,460,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 131,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,584,383.20. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard M. Beyer sold 5,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.68, for a total value of $864,335.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,950,106.08. This represents a 5.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,456 shares of company stock valued at $15,698,445. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,235 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. SilverOak Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Micron Technology by 3.5% in the second quarter. SilverOak Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,955 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Beta Wealth Group Inc. raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 1.5% in the second quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 6,805 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Micron Technology by 0.6% during the second quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 19,271 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position in Micron Technology by 3.7% during the first quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.