3M Company (NYSE:MMM) Receives $158.10 Average PT from Analysts

Key Points

• 3M Company has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from eleven brokerages, with two ratings for sell, two for hold, and seven for buy.
• The company recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.16, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 with an annualized yield of 1.9%.
• Insider transactions reveal significant stock sales, with insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. selling over 6,000 shares at an average price of $150.18, representing a 68.01% decrease in his position.

Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $158.10.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price objective on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th.

3M Stock Performance

MMM traded down $2.36 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $151.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,915,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,785,931. 3M has a 52 week low of $121.98 and a 52 week high of $164.15. The company's 50-day moving average is $153.56 and its 200-day moving average is $147.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market cap of $80.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.04.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. 3M had a return on equity of 96.48% and a net margin of 16.01%.The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,522. This represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total value of $523,740.51. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.