3M (NYSE:MMM) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in a report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays upgraded 3M from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an underperform rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on 3M from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on 3M from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $107.60.

3M Price Performance

MMM opened at $104.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a PE ratio of -8.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.00. 3M has a 1 year low of $85.35 and a 1 year high of $113.14.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.77%. 3M’s payout ratio is -47.82%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 73,903.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,656,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $798,258,000 after purchasing an additional 6,647,593 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 1,273.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $413,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,334 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in 3M by 313.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 1,889.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,356,600 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $201,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288,400 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.