3M (NYSE:MMM) Sets New 1-Year High at $135.28

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $135.28 and last traded at $134.59, with a volume of 281032 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $133.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MMM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price target on 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.43.

3M Trading Down 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $122.77 and a 200-day moving average of $107.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.50, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of 3M

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in 3M by 11.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,617,000 after acquiring an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in 3M by 2.0% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $506,135,000 after acquiring an additional 97,340 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of 3M by 313.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $289,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010,319 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $258,686,000 after purchasing an additional 396,773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.