3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Down 0.1% - Time to Sell?

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $145.86 and last traded at $147.51. 761,944 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,292,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.13.

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3M Stock Down 0.4 %

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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.23. The stock has a market cap of $79.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $3,717,503,000 after buying an additional 302,900 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,493,655,000 after purchasing an additional 280,048 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 3M by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $871,738,000 after purchasing an additional 755,155 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of 3M by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,093 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.