3M (NYSE:MMM) Receives $149.13 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.13.

Several research firms have issued reports on MMM. Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its position in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $816,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

MMM opened at $150.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52-week low of $85.62 and a 52-week high of $156.35.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.