3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Down 1.9% - Time to Sell?

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) dropped 1.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $145.40 and last traded at $145.58. Approximately 551,018 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 3,980,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The business's 50 day moving average price is $149.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.29. The stock has a market cap of $79.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

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3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The business's revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 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.