3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading Up 0.8%

3M (NYSE:MMM) was up 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $129.63 and last traded at $128.68. Approximately 932,807 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,285,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.57.

3M Stock Up 1.6 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $110.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.63. The firm has a market cap of $71.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

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

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,246,367,000 after buying an additional 377,703 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,320,649,000 after buying an additional 43,732 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in 3M by 11.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,617,000 after buying an additional 533,520 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 2.0% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $506,135,000 after buying an additional 97,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $502,585,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.