3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for 3M from $170.00 to $176.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.10% from its current price.
• 3M reported quarterly earnings of $2.16 per share, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.01, with revenue reaching $6.16 billion.
• The stock has received multiple "buy" ratings from analysts, with a current average target price of $164.70 and a "Moderate Buy" rating.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $170.00 to $176.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the conglomerate's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.10% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings raised shares of 3M from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on 3M from $177.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays set a $170.00 price target on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.70.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $158.42 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. 3M has a 12-month low of $121.98 and a 12-month high of $164.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the insider 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 0.4% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 16,920 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 1.4% in the first quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,580 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 0.5% in the first quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,690 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY boosted its stake in 3M by 0.8% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 9,744 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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