3M Company (NYSE:MMM) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $155.83.

Several research firms have recently commented on MMM. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

3M Trading Up 0.9%

MMM stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.85. 5,562,012 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,821,729. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. 3M has a 12-month low of $98.26 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.03.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 96.19%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the 1st quarter valued at $235,020,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in 3M by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $576,845,000 after buying an additional 1,520,619 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $175,110,000. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in 3M by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.