MMM vs. HON, CSL, DHR, GFF, ITT, MO, VZ, MKL, FSS, and IEP
Should you be buying 3M stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of 3M include Honeywell International (HON), Carlisle Companies (CSL), Danaher (DHR), Griffon (GFF), ITT (ITT), Altria Group (MO), Verizon Communications (VZ), Markel Group (MKL), Federal Signal (FSS), and Icahn Enterprises (IEP).
3M vs. Its Competitors
3M (NYSE:MMM) and Honeywell International (NASDAQ:HON) are both large-cap multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.
3M presently has a consensus price target of $164.70, suggesting a potential upside of 5.59%. Honeywell International has a consensus price target of $254.07, suggesting a potential upside of 22.02%. Given Honeywell International's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Honeywell International is more favorable than 3M.
In the previous week, Honeywell International had 44 more articles in the media than 3M. MarketBeat recorded 56 mentions for Honeywell International and 12 mentions for 3M. Honeywell International's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat 3M's score of 1.17 indicating that Honeywell International is being referred to more favorably in the news media.
3M has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Honeywell International has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.
3M has a net margin of 16.01% compared to Honeywell International's net margin of 14.30%. 3M's return on equity of 96.48% beat Honeywell International's return on equity.
65.3% of 3M shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.9% of Honeywell International shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of 3M shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Honeywell International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
3M pays an annual dividend of $2.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Honeywell International pays an annual dividend of $4.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. 3M pays out 40.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Honeywell International pays out 54.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. 3M has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Honeywell International has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Honeywell International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Honeywell International has higher revenue and earnings than 3M. 3M is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Honeywell International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Honeywell International beats 3M on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding MMM and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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This page (NYSE:MMM) was last updated on 10/6/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff