Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for 3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on 3M from $175 to $160 while maintaining an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 9.8% upside from the current share price, even as the consensus Street rating is "Hold" with a $174.40 target.
• 3M narrowly beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.83 vs. $1.80) but missed revenue, and set FY2026 guidance of $8.50–$8.70 EPS versus analysts' average forecast of about 7.8, indicating management expects stronger full-year earnings.
• Chief Accounting Officer Theresa Reinseth sold 5,145 shares at an average of $172.75 (reducing her holdings by 66.6%), and institutional investors own roughly 65.3% of 3M's stock.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $175.00 to $160.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the conglomerate's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.77% from the stock's current price.

MMM has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of 3M from $179.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of 3M from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $174.40.

3M Trading Up 0.4%

3M stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $145.76. 502,101 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,163,386. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $157.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.01. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $121.98 and a fifty-two week high of $177.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. 3M had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 95.36%. The business's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. 3M has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.50-8.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 5,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total transaction of $888,798.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $446,558.75. This trade represents a 66.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PeakShares LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $947,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $415,000. Bayban acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at $1,853,000. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $2,454,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Company Profile

3M Company, originally founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is a diversified global technology and manufacturing firm headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Over its history the company has expanded from mineral mining into a broad portfolio of industrial, safety, healthcare and consumer products, building a reputation for applied science and product innovation across many end markets.

3M's businesses span a wide range of product categories including adhesives and tapes, abrasives, filtration and separation technologies, personal protective equipment such as respirators, medical and dental products, industrial and automotive solutions, and a suite of consumer brands (for example, well-known office and home products).

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