3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

3M Company (NYSE:MMM)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $159.05 and traded as high as $168.27. 3M shares last traded at $168.00, with a volume of 3,247,593 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $199.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $187.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.40.

3M Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $165.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.05. The company has a market cap of $89.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter. 3M had a return on equity of 98.47% and a net margin of 13.70%.The business had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter. 3M has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 46.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 13,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.78, for a total transaction of $2,347,378.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,046,184.36. This trade represents a 69.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark W. Murphy sold 19,061 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.55, for a total transaction of $3,174,609.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,098,230.70. This trade represents a 74.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,836,465. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 15.8% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,137 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its position in 3M by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 40,875 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,218,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384 shares during the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $425,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in 3M during the 2nd quarter worth $1,303,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its position in 3M by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 77,624 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,817,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Company Profile

3M Company, originally founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is a diversified global technology and manufacturing firm headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Over its history the company has expanded from mineral mining into a broad portfolio of industrial, safety, healthcare and consumer products, building a reputation for applied science and product innovation across many end markets.

3M’s businesses span a wide range of product categories including adhesives and tapes, abrasives, filtration and separation technologies, personal protective equipment such as respirators, medical and dental products, industrial and automotive solutions, and a suite of consumer brands (for example, well-known office and home products).