3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading 0.3% Higher – What’s Next?

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s stock price shot up 0.3% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $153.83 and last traded at $153.67. 547,161 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,027,325 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $83.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $148.72 and its 200-day moving average is $137.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 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.