3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Up 2% – Here’s What Happened

3M (NYSE:MMM) rose 2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $153.40 and last traded at $153.31. Approximately 502,325 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 4,018,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MMM. Barclays lifted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup raised their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Up 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.55. The company has a market capitalization of $83.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $851,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is 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.