3M (NYSE:MMM) Raises Dividend to $0.73 Per Share

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

3M has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 15.2% per year over the last three years. 3M has a payout ratio of 32.9% meaning 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

3M stock traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $151.73. 3,109,158 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,540,231. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.59. The firm has a market cap of $82.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.38% 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.