Kevin H. Rhodes Sells 6,743 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock

3M (NYSE:MMM) EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at $734,564.70. This represents a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $151.34. The stock had a trading volume of 4,285,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,770,554. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.89. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $152.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market capitalization of $82.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of 3M by 179.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,107,000 after acquiring an additional 526,194 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in 3M by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $151,002,000 after acquiring an additional 308,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% 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.