StockNews.com Upgrades 3M (NYSE:MMM) to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

MMM has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $104.00.

3M Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $92.35 on Tuesday. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $95.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.31, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.24.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -47.82%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 419.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.