3M Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.70 (NYSE:MMM)

3M (NYSE:MMM) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 16th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of 0.70 per share by the conglomerate on Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%.

3M has increased its dividend by an average of 0.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 67 consecutive years. 3M has a dividend payout ratio of 35.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect 3M to earn $7.87 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 35.6%.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $127.05. The stock had a trading volume of 3,812,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,347,995. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $109.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.88. The firm has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of -9.97, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $128.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. 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 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Vertical Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.57.

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.