3M Company (NYSE:MMM) Short Interest Update

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 9,573,306 shares, an increase of 16.9% from the February 12th total of 8,186,036 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,538,486 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,538,486 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Mizuho set a $160.00 price objective on 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on 3M from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $181.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of 3M from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 5,145 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $888,798.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,558.75. The trade was a 66.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 77.4% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 243 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Sfam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $145.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.63. 3M has a 52 week low of $121.98 and a 52 week high of $177.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.03. 3M had a return on equity of 95.36% and a net margin of 13.03%.The firm had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. 3M has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.50-8.700 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 52.00%.

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).