3M (NYSE:MMM) Upgraded by UBS Group to Buy Rating

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $184.00 target price on the conglomerate's stock, up from their previous target price of $130.00. UBS Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 40.02% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MMM. Citigroup upped their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Argus raised shares of 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 3M from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock traded up $1.06 on Wednesday, reaching $131.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,703,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,864,520. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The business's 50-day moving average price is $132.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.40. The stock has a market cap of $71.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of 3M

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in 3M by 13.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 154,810 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $16,420,000 after purchasing an additional 18,054 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 262,119 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $27,719,000 after buying an additional 2,050 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 3.4% during the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,014 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $15,855,000. Finally, Poehling Capital Management INC. boosted its stake in 3M by 6.6% in the first quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. now owns 69,623 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $7,385,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

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.