Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,255,931 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,912 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Micron Technology worth $130,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MU. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Micron Technology by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,931,811 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $227,741,000 after purchasing an additional 20,741 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in Micron Technology by 23.1% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 51,832 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $5,375,000 after acquiring an additional 9,735 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 9.1% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 163,272 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $16,933,000 after acquiring an additional 13,573 shares during the period. Chapin Davis Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Micron Technology in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,056,000. Finally, RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,270,000. Institutional investors own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

Micron Technology Stock Down 1.3 %

Micron Technology stock opened at $111.90 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $100.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.12. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.93 and a 1-year high of $157.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 164.56 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.64 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 25th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.21. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 1.58% and a net margin of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $7.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.21) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 93.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were issued a $0.115 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.65%.

Insider Transactions at Micron Technology

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $552,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,830 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MU. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Micron Technology from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. China Renaissance started coverage on Micron Technology in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $148.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Micron Technology from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Micron Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Micron Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.04.

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.