3M (NYSE:MMM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

3M (NYSE:MMM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.13.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 3M from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $141.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.56. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $141.66.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. 3M’s revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 2.0% in the 2nd 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $521,596,000 after acquiring an additional 43,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 18.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $258,686,000 after acquiring an additional 396,773 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.