Bank of America Raises 3M (NYSE:MMM) Price Target to $175.00

3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) had its price target increased by Bank of America from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the conglomerate's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.87.

3M Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:MMM traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $149.14. The stock had a trading volume of 7,076,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,814,158. The company has a market capitalization of $81.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $152.08. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $131.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.88%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in 3M by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 17,211 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in 3M by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in 3M by 2,466.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

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.