3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading Down 1% – Here’s Why

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s stock price was down 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $148.07 and last traded at $149.80. Approximately 1,668,477 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 4,037,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market cap of $81.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $148.35 and a 200 day moving average of $137.52.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, 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 transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,493,655,000 after acquiring an additional 280,048 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $871,738,000 after acquiring an additional 755,155 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $794,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares during the period. 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.