3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading Down 0.2% - Time to Sell?

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 0.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $142.18 and last traded at $144.57. 481,902 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,119,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.56.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost 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 2.09%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in 3M by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,493,655,000 after purchasing an additional 280,048 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $871,738,000 after purchasing an additional 755,155 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $734,456,000 after buying an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by 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.