Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Up 2.1% Following Earnings Beat

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s share price rose 2.1% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $104.69 and last traded at $104.25. Approximately 7,513,271 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 22,660,624 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.06.

The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. Micron Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. KGI Securities upgraded Micron Technology to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America downgraded Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 1,096.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Micron Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Micron Technology by 602.2% in the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

Micron Technology Trading Down 8.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $105.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.82 and a 200 day moving average of $98.21.

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.