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

Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.13.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $3.97 during trading on Monday, hitting $146.27. 2,027,360 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,264,476. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The business's fifty day moving average is $145.68 and its 200-day moving average is $136.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a one year low of $82.94 and a one year high of $156.35.

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3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. 3M's payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 Trading of 3M

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $816,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by 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.