Insider Selling: 3M (NYSE:MMM) Chairman Sells 45,276 Shares of Stock

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at $26,359,457.18. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded up $2.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $151.44. The company had a trading volume of 4,928,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,800,807. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $132.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.55. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $152.08. The company has a market cap of $82.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MMM. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of 3M by 75.0% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,380 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 9,160 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in 3M by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 401,554 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $41,035,000 after buying an additional 11,368 shares in the last quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC boosted its position in 3M by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 23,680 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of 3M by 7.5% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 151,763 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $15,509,000 after acquiring an additional 10,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 15.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 62,500 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $6,387,000 after acquiring an additional 8,220 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.