3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading Down 1%

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) traded down 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $92.00 and last traded at $92.09. 682,597 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,737,894 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of 3M from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.00.

3M Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $50.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $95.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.39.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.56%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.82%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in 3M by 15.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 110,988 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $10,391,000 after buying an additional 14,775 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth $3,855,000. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 49.7% during the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,747 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,568,000 after buying an additional 5,561 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,487 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,021,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MWA Asset Management acquired a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $1,723,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.