3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Up 1.4%

3M (NYSE:MMM) shares shot up 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $92.43 and last traded at $92.27. 704,956 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,866,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

3M Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $50.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.81 and a 200 day moving average of $97.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Markel Corp lifted its holdings in 3M by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 269,750 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,161,000 after buying an additional 16,550 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $246,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in 3M by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,532 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in 3M by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,275 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 538 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.