3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Down 1.9% – Here’s What Happened

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s stock price fell 1.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $149.42 and last traded at $149.77. 656,440 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 3,988,310 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Down 2.5 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.17. The firm has a market cap of $78.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’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 directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other 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’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.