3M (NYSE:MMM) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

3M (NYSE:MMM) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 EPS.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM traded down $2.68 on Wednesday, reaching $129.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,295,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,921,160. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $133.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.46. 3M has a 1-year low of $72.47 and a 1-year high of $141.34. The company has a market cap of $71.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on 3M in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.20.

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.