Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 52,912 Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,255,931 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock after acquiring 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Micron Technology by 30.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,564,198 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,109,769,000 after buying an additional 2,477,985 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 21.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,326,224 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $1,174,643,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022,180 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Micron Technology by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,226,710 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $5,001,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,568 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Micron Technology by 254.4% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,859,416 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $192,840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Micron Technology by 1,233.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,430,619 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $145,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323,352 shares during the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Micron Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MU opened at $90.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.53 and a beta of 1.16. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.15 and a 1-year high of $157.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.67. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.95) EPS. Micron Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Micron Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.115 per share. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Micron Technology from $145.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Mizuho reduced their target price on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Micron Technology from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America cut Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.26.

Insider Activity at Micron Technology

In other Micron Technology news, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 135,830 shares in the company, valued at $15,348,790. The trade was a 3.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.