3M (NYSE:MMM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

3M (NYSE:MMM) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.87.

MMM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Old North State Trust LLC raised its stake in 3M by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 116,993 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $15,993,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 72,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $9,943,000 after buying an additional 22,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of 3M by 255.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 78,978 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,796,000 after buying an additional 56,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $130.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $141.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.35%.

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.