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

3M (NYSE:MMM) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $148.87.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. FMR LLC raised its holdings 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $172,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,491 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the second quarter worth approximately $76,732,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth approximately $82,208,000. Finally, Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its holdings in 3M by 179.0% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,107,000 after purchasing an additional 526,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $149.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $152.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $132.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 37.09%.

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.