3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Down 0.1%

3M (NYSE:MMM) shares fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $91.85 and last traded at $92.17. 514,438 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 5,798,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MMM. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

3M Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.52%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.82%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,590,533,000 after purchasing an additional 317,483 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,320,649,000 after purchasing an additional 43,732 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $502,585,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in 3M by 2.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,082,950 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $382,246,000 after purchasing an additional 94,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 10.1% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 4,062,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $380,337,000 after purchasing an additional 371,935 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company's Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.