3M (NYSE:MMM) Upgraded by Melius Research to Buy

3M (NYSE:MMM) was upgraded by analysts at Melius Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $180.00 target price on the conglomerate’s stock. Melius Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 36.23% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho increased their target price on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Melius raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.87.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM traded down $2.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $132.13. The company had a trading volume of 7,331,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,908,921. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $141.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $132.90 and its 200-day moving average is $113.18. The company has a market capitalization of $73.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at about $1,480,000. G&S Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 6.3% in the first quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 10,499 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 20.7% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 15,988 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 16.8% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 47,749 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,065,000 after purchasing an additional 6,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buckley Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 36.7% in the first quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,889 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.