3M (NYSE:MMM) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $149.13.

A number of research firms have weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,493,655,000 after purchasing an additional 280,048 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 3M by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $871,738,000 after buying an additional 755,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in 3M by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE MMM opened at $150.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $81.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $85.62 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.82. 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 (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

About 3M

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.