Citigroup Cuts 3M (NYSE:MMM) Price Target to $142.00

3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $152.00 to $142.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the conglomerate's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on MMM. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.47.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $131.10. The stock had a trading volume of 686,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,127,837. 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 stock has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. 3M has a 12-month low of $90.33 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.31.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth about $259,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,768 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of 3M by 255.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 78,978 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $10,796,000 after buying an additional 56,734 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in 3M by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 72,733 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $9,943,000 after buying an additional 22,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in 3M by 0.7% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 116,993 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $15,993,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.