3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Up 0.6%

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s share price rose 0.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $105.57 and last traded at $105.25. Approximately 821,178 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 5,046,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $111.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of 3M from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.60.

3M Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $58.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.86 and its 200 day moving average is $97.78.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.70%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently -47.82%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. Napatree Capital LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $723,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in 3M by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 65,954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,210,000 after buying an additional 7,889 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $319,000. Institutional investors 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 operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.