Clearline Capital LP Takes $26.39 Million Position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Clearline Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 313,553 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $26,389,000. Micron Technology comprises approximately 3.5% of Clearline Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Micron Technology by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 583.3% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 410 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Micron Technology Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MU opened at $82.76 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $82.84 and its 200 day moving average is $93.39. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.54 and a 12-month high of $157.54. The stock has a market cap of $92.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The business’s revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.115 dividend. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.03%.

Insider Activity at Micron Technology

In other news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $192,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,996,320. This trade represents a 8.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 164,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,808 shares of company stock valued at $1,858,424. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Micron Technology from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $125.00 price target on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Micron Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.48.

Micron Technology 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.