3M (NYSE:MMM) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.73 Per Share

3M (NYSE:MMM) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of 0.73 per share by the conglomerate on Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70.

3M has decreased its dividend by an average of 15.2% annually over the last three years. 3M has a payout ratio of 32.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect 3M to earn $8.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.6%.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock opened at $152.43 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $135.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market cap of $83.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00.

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

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

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.