Morgan Stanley Begins Coverage on 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an underweight rating and a $125.00 price objective on the conglomerate’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MMM. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of 3M from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $124.43.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $128.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $119.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $134.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,246,367,000 after acquiring an additional 377,703 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in 3M by 11.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,617,000 after purchasing an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 2.0% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $506,135,000 after buying an additional 97,340 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $502,585,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of 3M by 313.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after buying an additional 2,010,319 shares during the last quarter. 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.