3M Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.70 (NYSE:MMM)

3M (NYSE:MMM) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 5th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.70 per share by the conglomerate on Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th.

3M has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.7% per year over the last three years. 3M has a dividend payout ratio of 35.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect 3M to earn $7.87 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.6%.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $130.32 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $132.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.40. The firm has a market cap of $70.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com cut 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.87.

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.