Natixis Advisors L.P. Reduces Holdings in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Natixis Advisors L.P. cut its stake in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 489,134 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 12,049 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Micron Technology were worth $41,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,305 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 19,842 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,652 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,125 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Homestead Advisers Corp grew its position in shares of Micron Technology by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 1,372 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MU. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $103.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Micron Technology from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.20.

Micron Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ MU traded up $2.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $114.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,564,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,228,284. The company’s 50-day moving average is $108.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a current ratio of 3.74. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.55 and a 1-year high of $130.54.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.69. Micron Technology had a negative net margin of 20.57% and a negative return on equity of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($2.03) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 57.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is -13.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $593,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 788,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,901,175.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Micron Technology news, EVP Scott J. Deboer sold 40,000 shares of Micron Technology stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.31, for a total value of $4,412,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 158,617 shares in the company, valued at $17,497,041.27. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $593,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 788,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,901,175.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 323,890 shares of company stock worth $36,079,267 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.32% 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.