3M (NYSE:MMM) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.73

3M (NYSE:MMM) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 13th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.73 per share by the conglomerate on Thursday, June 12th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%.

3M has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 15.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. 3M has a dividend payout ratio of 34.9% 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 $2.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.1%.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $148.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 52 week low of $96.76 and a 52 week high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.29.

Institutional Trading of 3M

An institutional investor recently raised its position in 3M stock. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,751 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Bison Wealth LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.