3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Down 0.9%

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) dropped 0.9% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $96.65 and last traded at $97.56. Approximately 1,766,843 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 5,860,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 3M from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.70.

3M Stock Down 1.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The firm has a market cap of $53.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.61, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $96.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.54.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. The firm had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently -47.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $4,590,533,000 after buying an additional 317,483 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,320,649,000 after purchasing an additional 43,732 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $502,585,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 3M by 10.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,531,722 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $480,680,000 after purchasing an additional 435,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in 3M by 2.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,082,950 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $382,246,000 after purchasing an additional 94,864 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.