3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading Down 1.5%

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s share price dropped 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $101.44 and last traded at $101.56. Approximately 955,532 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 5,683,666 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 report on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Vertical Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on 3M in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.55.

3M Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $55.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.86, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.66.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. Analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of 3M by 160.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 166,132 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,622,000 after purchasing an additional 102,284 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,126 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in 3M by 50.8% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 34,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,710,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779 shares during the period. Arrow Financial Corp raised its stake in 3M by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 4,905 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 1st quarter valued at $485,000. Institutional investors 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.