Short Interest in 3M (NYSE:MMM) Expands By 24.7%

3M (NYSE:MMM) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,650,000 shares, a growth of 24.7% from the February 28th total of 8,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in 3M by 22.5% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,044 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 614,438 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $79,318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681 shares during the period. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,966,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in 3M by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 270,685 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,943,000 after purchasing an additional 58,707 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM traded up $0.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.74. 3,641,250 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,097,468. 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 12-month low of $89.54 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.49. The company has a market capitalization of $79.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.