3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

3M (NYSE:MMM) shares were down 1.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $145.40 and last traded at $145.58. Approximately 551,018 shares traded hands during mid-day 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 research firms have recently commented on MMM. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,408,000 after purchasing an additional 22,203 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.