3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading 1.1% Higher – What’s Next?

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s share price shot up 1.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $148.05 and last traded at $148.52. 1,202,608 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 4,116,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Down 2.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $77.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $149.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in 3M by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 22.5% in the 1st 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 raised its position 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 valued at $79,318,000 after acquiring an additional 2,681 shares in the last quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $1,966,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in 3M by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 270,685 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,943,000 after acquiring an additional 58,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.