3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) were down 0.2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $142.18 and last traded at $144.57. Approximately 481,902 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 4,119,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % 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 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in 3M by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.