3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Up 1.6%

3M (NYSE:MMM) shot up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $124.79 and last traded at $124.79. 510,103 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 5,416,085 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research raised shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. 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 report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Argus raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.57.

3M Stock Up 1.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.76. The company has a market capitalization of $69.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.81, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,246,367,000 after purchasing an additional 377,703 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 0.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 43,732 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in 3M by 11.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $517,617,000 after acquiring an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $502,585,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of 3M by 313.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,319 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.