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

3M (NYSE:MMM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.13.

MMM has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in 3M by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $146.36 on Monday. 3M has a one year low of $78.14 and a one year high of $156.35. The stock has a market cap of $79.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 2.00%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

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.