Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Down 1.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)’s share price fell 1.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after KeyCorp lowered their price target on the stock from $145.00 to $135.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Micron Technology traded as low as $100.32 and last traded at $100.58. 6,525,691 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 22,260,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.54.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $165.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Micron Technology from $138.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.85.

Insider Activity

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $552,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,348,790. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC bought a new position in Micron Technology in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Micron Technology by 230.7% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 248 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Micron Technology by 128.6% during the second quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 256 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Micron Technology by 57.2% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 272 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $112.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -70.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.13.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.65 billion. Micron Technology had a negative net margin of 7.20% and a negative return on equity of 4.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 93.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.21) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 7th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -32.39%.

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.