3M (NYSE:MMM) Short Interest Up 24.7% in March

3M (NYSE:MMM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,650,000 shares, an increase of 24.7% from the February 28th total of 8,540,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $147.74. 3,641,250 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,097,468. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $149.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52-week low of $89.54 and a 52-week high of $156.35. 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 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. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,408,000 after buying an additional 22,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.