Harvest Fund Management Increases Investment in Micron Technology
Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd significantly increased its investment in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) during the fourth quarter. According to the company’s recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Harvest Fund Management increased its holdings by 175.6%. The institutional investor purchased an additional 90,844 shares, bringing its total to 142,564 shares in the semiconductor manufacturer.
As of the most recent SEC filing, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Micron Technology were valued at $11,998,000. Several other large investors have also adjusted their positions in the company.
Swedbank AB increased its stake by 30.4% in the third quarter, now owning 3,455,819 shares worth $358,403,000 after acquiring an additional 806,639 shares. Claro Advisors LLC increased its stake by 21.7%, now holding 3,436 shares worth $356,000, having acquired an additional 612 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position dramatically, by 1,485.2%, and now holds 8,243 shares worth $855,000, after acquiring an additional 7,723 shares. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake by 2.4%, holding 19,656 shares worth $2,039,000 after purchasing 462 shares. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake by 1.1%, and now owns 208,683 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $21,643,000, after acquiring 2,182 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.84% of Micron Technology’s stock.
Analyst Price Targets
Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for MU. Wells Fargo & Company lowered its price objective from $140.00 to $130.00 while maintaining an “overweight” rating. KGI Securities raised Micron Technology to a “strong-buy” rating. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced its target price from $145.00 to $128.00, keeping a “buy” rating. Robert W. Baird increased its target price from $130.00 to $163.00, issuing an “outperform” rating. Bank of America downgraded Micron Technology from a “buy” to a “neutral” rating, decreasing its target price from $125.00 to $110.00.
Based on MarketBeat.com data, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $132.63. One analyst has a sell rating, three have hold ratings, twenty-one have buy ratings, and one has a strong buy rating.
Stock Performance and Financials
Shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) were trading down $8.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, closing at $94.72. Approximately 63,123,228 shares were traded, compared to the average volume of 22,560,130. The company’s 50-day moving average is $96.82, and its 200-day moving average is $98.21. Key financial ratios include a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.72, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.
Micron Technology, Inc. reached a 52-week low of $83.54 and a high of $157.54. The company has a market capitalization of $105.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, and a beta of 1.23. Micron Technology reported its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th, achieving an EPS of $1.56, surpassing analysts’ estimates of $1.43 by $0.13. Revenue for the quarter was $8.05 billion, exceeding expectations of $7.93 billion. The company’s return on equity was 8.32% and the net margin was 13.34%. Revenue increased by 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year; during the same period last year the business posted $0.42 earnings per share.
Analysts currently estimate earnings per share of $6.08 for the current year.
Dividend Announcement
Micron Technology recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.115, payable on Tuesday, April 15th, to shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.46 with a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. The company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.03%.
Insider Activity
In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the company’s stock on Monday, March 3rd, at an average price of $92.93, totaling $223,403.72. Following this sale, the director now directly owns 27,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,542,378.94. This transaction represents an 8.08% decrease in her ownership of the stock. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock
