Insider Selling: 3M (NYSE:MMM) Insider Sells $944,098.74 in Stock

3M (NYSE:MMM) insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $151.55 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $133.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.23. The firm has a market cap of $82.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. 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 has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $152.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 11,601.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter worth about $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 179.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,107,000 after acquiring an additional 526,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $151,002,000 after acquiring an additional 308,912 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

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.