3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading 0% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) rose 0% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $153.45 and last traded at $153.27. Approximately 474,550 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 4,055,735 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Bank of America increased their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $82.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.26.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $636,767,000. FMR LLC raised its position in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in 3M by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $576,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,110,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in 3M by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $794,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.