Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 31,640 Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,431,434 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after selling 31,640 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Micron Technology were worth $120,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MU. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $1,470,875,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Micron Technology by 339.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,255,000 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $189,781,000 after buying an additional 1,742,073 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Micron Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $135,865,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,001,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434,568 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 254.4% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,859,416 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $192,840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334,690 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

Micron Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MU opened at $88.44 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market cap of $98.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49 and a beta of 1.23. Micron Technology, Inc. has a one year low of $83.54 and a one year high of $157.54.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 8.32% and a net margin of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Micron Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.03%.

Insider Activity at Micron Technology

In other news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total transaction of $1,442,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $223,403.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on MU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $91.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $128.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.76.

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.