3M (NYSE:MMM) Trading Down 0.3% After Analyst Downgrade

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s stock price was down 0.3% on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $118.00 to $110.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. 3M traded as low as $90.17 and last traded at $91.05. Approximately 3,036,971 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 5,144,722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.30.

MMM has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,590,533,000 after buying an additional 317,483 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,320,649,000 after buying an additional 43,732 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,474,791 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,203,635,000 after purchasing an additional 619,370 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of 3M by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,769,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,291,535,000 after purchasing an additional 825,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in 3M by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,413,149 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,103,670,000 after acquiring an additional 44,714 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.22.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.82%.

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.