3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Up 1.4%

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $92.43 and last traded at $92.27. 704,956 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,866,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised 3M from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.00.

3M Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.22.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion for 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%. 3M's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is -47.82%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following 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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 4.6% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL increased its stake in shares of 3M by 6.1% during the first quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 9,187 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $974,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Steele Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 13.8% in the first quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,411 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 413 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.