Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Down 1.6% Following Insider Selling

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s stock price was down 1.6% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $87.58 and last traded at $88.37. Approximately 4,909,996 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 21,897,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.82.

Specifically, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total value of $416,676.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,442,011.83. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MU. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $114.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.24.

Micron Technology Stock Down 1.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $98.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.90 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.54.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,625 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 2,454 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Micron Technology by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 4,063 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Micron Technology by 14.3% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 821 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 2.4% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,382 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

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.