3M Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.70 (NYSE:MMM)

3M (NYSE:MMM) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 5th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.70 per share by the conglomerate on Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th.

3M has increased its dividend by an average of 0.7% annually over the last three years. 3M has a payout ratio of 35.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect 3M to earn $7.87 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.6%.

3M Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MMM traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $132.28. 124,460 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,847,468. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $72.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The company’s revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Melius raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley started coverage on 3M in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

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.