3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Down 1.1%

3M (NYSE:MMM) shares dropped 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $90.65 and last traded at $90.97. Approximately 736,467 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 5,715,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $92.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.00.

3M Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.39. The company has a market cap of $50.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The business had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in 3M by 10.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,531,722 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $480,680,000 after buying an additional 435,439 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in 3M by 18.6% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,473 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas purchased a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at about $326,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in 3M by 13.3% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 426,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $45,251,000 after buying an additional 50,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in 3M by 2.6% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 160,739 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,050,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.