3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading Down 0.4%

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s stock price dropped 0.4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $122.56 and last traded at $123.64. Approximately 477,413 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 5,385,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research raised 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Argus upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.57.

3M Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $68.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.01%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $502,585,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in 3M by 313.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010,319 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 1st quarter valued at about $165,986,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in 3M by 157.2% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $197,377,000 after buying an additional 1,103,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in 3M by 218.3% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,489,351 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $147,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,440 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by 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.