3M (NYSE:MMM) Receives $144.13 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $144.13.

A number of research firms have weighed in on MMM. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 3M from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Up 4.1 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $146.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $131.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.20. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $150.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio 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.