Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 2.2% – Should You Sell?

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares were down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $100.41 and last traded at $100.96. Approximately 3,979,412 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 22,462,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Micron Technology from $175.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Micron Technology from $180.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.96.

Micron Technology Trading Down 4.3 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.82. The firm has a market cap of $110.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.95) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.26%.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 181,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,442,011.83. This represents a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Micron Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 30,539 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $2,570,000 after acquiring an additional 15,898 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,769,000. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.