3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Down 0.9%

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s share price fell 0.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $96.65 and last traded at $97.56. 1,766,843 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 5,860,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MMM. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.70.

3M Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $53.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $96.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.48%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 1,273.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $413,637,000 after buying an additional 3,508,334 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in 3M by 313.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $289,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,319 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 157.2% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $197,377,000 after buying an additional 1,103,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 8,766.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $118,168,000 after buying an additional 1,068,748 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.