3M (MMM) Competitors

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) and 3M (NYSE:MMM) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, community ranking, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, earnings and media sentiment.

Does the media prefer DHR or MMM?

In the previous week, Danaher had 16 more articles in the media than 3M. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Danaher and 18 mentions for 3M. 3M's average media sentiment score of 1.61 beat Danaher's score of 1.54 indicating that 3M is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Danaher	31 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
3M	18 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is DHR or MMM a better dividend stock?

Danaher pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. 3M pays an annual dividend of $2.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Danaher pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 3M pays out 36.9% 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. Danaher has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and 3M has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in DHR or MMM?

Danaher received 161 more outperform votes than 3M when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 74.22% of users gave Danaher an outperform vote while only 59.25% of users gave 3M an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Danaher	Outperform Votes 1074 74.22%	Underperform Votes 373 25.78%
3M	Outperform Votes 913 59.25%	Underperform Votes 628 40.75%

Is DHR or MMM more profitable?

Danaher has a net margin of 16.33% compared to 3M's net margin of 15.71%. 3M's return on equity of 100.77% beat Danaher's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Danaher	16.33%	10.82%	6.90%
3M	15.71%	100.77%	9.84%

Do institutionals & insiders believe in DHR or MMM?

79.1% of Danaher shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.3% of 3M shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.1% of Danaher shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of 3M shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has better valuation & earnings, DHR or MMM?

3M has higher revenue and earnings than Danaher. 3M is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Danaher, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Danaher	$23.82B	5.99	$3.90B	$5.15	38.69
3M	$24.51B	3.17	$4.17B	$7.92	18.21

Which has more risk & volatility, DHR or MMM?

Danaher has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 3M has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer DHR or MMM?

Danaher currently has a consensus target price of $248.17, indicating a potential upside of 24.55%. 3M has a consensus target price of $153.46, indicating a potential upside of 6.39%. Given Danaher's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Danaher is more favorable than 3M.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Danaher	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
3M	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57

Summary

Danaher beats 3M on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.