3M (NYSE:MMM) Chairman Sells $7,553,775.40 in Stock

3M (NYSE:MMM) Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM traded up $2.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $154.31. The company had a trading volume of 3,954,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,686,885. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $154.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $134.20 and its 200-day moving average is $130.37. The company has a market capitalization of $84.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 37.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,471 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,581,000 after acquiring an additional 15,457 shares in the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC grew its position in 3M by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,481,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of 3M by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 35,244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 8,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 76.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 12,022 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 5,195 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

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.