3M (NYSE:MMM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

3M (NYSE:MMM) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.87.

MMM has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Melius raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $130.36 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $130.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.75. 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 has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34. The company has a market capitalization of $70.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. 3M’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 35.35%.

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.