3M (NYSE:MMM) Upgraded to “Overweight” by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $111.00 target price on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their previous target price of $110.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MMM. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reiterated a neutral rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $103.70.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $98.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.46 billion, a PE ratio of -7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $99.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.55.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.05 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.14%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently -47.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 1,273.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $413,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,334 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 313.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after buying an additional 2,010,319 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in 3M by 157.2% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $197,377,000 after buying an additional 1,103,459 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 8,766.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $118,168,000 after buying an additional 1,068,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.