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

3M (NYSE:MMM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $139.27.

MMM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 8.6% during the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 17,211 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 118.6% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 689.7% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $133.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.84. The stock has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34.

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

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.