3M (NYSE:MMM) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.73 Per Share

3M (NYSE:MMM) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.73 per share by the conglomerate on Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70.

3M has decreased its dividend by an average of 15.2% per year over the last three years. 3M has a payout ratio of 32.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect 3M to earn $8.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.6%.

3M Price Performance

MMM traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $151.41. The stock had a trading volume of 127,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,344,420. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. 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 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.93.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday. 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. According to MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

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.