Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Hold (C+) Rating for 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Weiss Ratings reiterated their hold (c+) rating on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in a research note released on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.08.

3M Stock Up 0.7%

3M stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $149.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,413,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,965,009. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $141.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. 3M has a 52-week low of $96.76 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.78 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. 3M's payout ratio is 36.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth about $636,767,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth about $235,020,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $576,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth about $175,110,000. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.