Short Interest in 3M (NYSE:MMM) Grows By 24.7%

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,650,000 shares, a growth of 24.7% from the February 28th total of 8,540,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.13.

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3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $8.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $139.76. The company had a trading volume of 6,706,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,177,003. 3M has a 12 month low of $89.54 and a 12 month high of $156.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $149.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.56.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of 3M by 10.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,580 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $19,789,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in 3M by 2,466.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 2,947.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 18,224 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,491,000 after acquiring an additional 17,626 shares during the last quarter. 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.