3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Up 1.1%

3M (NYSE:MMM) was up 1.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $101.93 and last traded at $101.73. Approximately 429,052 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 5,465,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MMM shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. HSBC upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.58.

3M Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $99.23 and its 200-day moving average is $99.22. The firm has a market cap of $55.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -22.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fragasso Group Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 3.8% in the third quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in 3M by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 10,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in 3M by 11.4% in the first quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its stake in 3M by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.