Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at China Renaissance

China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $148.00 target price on the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MU. UBS Group dropped their price target on Micron Technology from $153.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Micron Technology from $172.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.04.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MU opened at $99.65 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.64. Micron Technology has a one year low of $65.26 and a one year high of $157.54. The firm has a market cap of $110.49 billion, a PE ratio of 146.54 and a beta of 1.18.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 3.10%. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.21) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 93.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Micron Technology will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MU. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,749 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 330 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,625 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $1,003,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Micron Technology by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 272 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 368 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

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.