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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

3M Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $149.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.99. The company has a market capitalization of $80.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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 for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.