Brokerages Set 3M (NYSE:MMM) Target Price at $148.87

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research 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 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $148.87.

MMM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last quarter. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $576,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $175,110,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 11,601.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE MMM opened at $150.11 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.31.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

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.