3M (NYSE:MMM) Receives $144.87 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.87.

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMM. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho boosted their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company.

3M Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $130.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.10 and a 200 day moving average of $124.58. The company has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in 3M by 40.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in 3M by 5.6% in 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 period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.