3M (MMM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.73 on March 12th

3M (NYSE:MMM) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of 0.73 per share by the conglomerate on Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70.

3M has decreased its dividend by an average of 15.2% per year over the last three years. 3M has a dividend payout ratio of 34.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect 3M to earn $8.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.1%.

3M Stock Up 0.2 %

MMM stock opened at $150.06 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $137.44 and a 200-day moving average of $133.25. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $155.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Melius upgraded 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 assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About 3M

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.