3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading 2% Higher – Time to Buy?

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s share price shot up 2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $153.40 and last traded at $153.31. 502,325 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 4,018,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $83.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $148.35 and its 200-day moving average is $137.55.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. This trade represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in 3M by 1.3% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 737,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,820,000 after purchasing an additional 9,158 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,191,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 92.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 610,010 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $83,388,000 after purchasing an additional 293,418 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its stake in 3M by 2.2% in the third quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 4,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 10.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 418,438 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $57,200,000 after acquiring an additional 39,206 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.