3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Down 0.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

3M (NYSE:MMM)’s share price dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading 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 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 topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in 3M during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in 3M by 419.1% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in 3M during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

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

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.58%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.82%.

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.