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

Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $169.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on 3M from $177.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays set a $170.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $523,740.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,522. This trade represents a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in 3M during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Intelligent Financial Strategies purchased a new position in 3M in the first quarter worth $42,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE MMM opened at $154.84 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $155.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.07. 3M has a 12 month low of $121.98 and a 12 month high of $164.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $82.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.05.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.38 billion during the quarter. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. 3M's payout ratio is 40.61%.

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.

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