3M (NYSE:MMM) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Overweight Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $170.00 price objective on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $140.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MMM. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $149.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $81.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 2.30 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $131.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.53. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $152.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.9% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC raised its stake in 3M by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 16,186 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the third quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,464 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 84 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’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.