3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading Down 0.1% – Should You Sell?

3M (NYSE:MMM) fell 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $145.86 and last traded at $147.51. 761,944 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,292,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $79.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $144.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. 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’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at $774,238.25. This trade represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% 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.