3M (NYSE:MMM) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $164.00 to $170.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 3M traded as high as $156.65 and last traded at $155.97, with a volume of 1416387 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $153.74.

MMM has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. 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 research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,493,655,000 after buying an additional 280,048 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $871,738,000 after purchasing an additional 755,155 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $794,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,093 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth about $636,767,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,498,809 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $660,695,000 after purchasing an additional 30,260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Stock Up 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $84.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.12.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.78 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 96.19% and a net margin of 17.79%. Research analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.