3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s stock price fell 0.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $142.18 and last traded at $144.57. 481,902 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,119,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $79.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.49.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after buying an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,493,655,000 after purchasing an additional 280,048 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of 3M by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $871,738,000 after purchasing an additional 755,155 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 3M by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after buying an additional 479,621 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.