3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Down 1% – Time to Sell?

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s stock price fell 1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $148.07 and last traded at $149.80. 1,668,477 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 4,037,035 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $81.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 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’s fifty day moving average is $147.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.36.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share 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 yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. State Street Corp lifted its position in 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after buying an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,493,655,000 after buying an additional 280,048 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in 3M by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $871,738,000 after buying an additional 755,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in 3M by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.