3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading 0.2% Higher

3M (NYSE:MMM) rose 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $101.47 and last traded at $100.77. Approximately 3,446,167 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 4,616,670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Vertical Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

3M Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $56.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.99, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.30.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 419.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the first quarter worth $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 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.