3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Time to Buy?

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s stock price was up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $152.13 and last traded at $151.93. Approximately 329,367 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 4,073,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMM. Barclays upped their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.15. The stock has a market cap of $82.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $1,966,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 270,685 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,943,000 after buying an additional 58,707 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $23,558,000. Finally, Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,122,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.