3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Up 1.6% – Here’s Why

3M (NYSE:MMM) traded up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $153.54 and last traded at $152.83. 998,879 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 4,091,295 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 1.7 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $147.25 and its 200 day moving average is $137.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in 3M by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 154,449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $21,113,000 after purchasing an additional 47,817 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in 3M by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,013 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in 3M by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,909 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in 3M by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 74,143 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in 3M by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 19,768 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.