3M Company (NYSE:MMM) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $156.33.

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 3M from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Insider Activity at 3M

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $155.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $83.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a 52 week low of $100.87 and a 52 week high of $159.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $148.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

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.

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