3M (MMM) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in DHR or MMM?

Danaher received 152 more outperform votes than 3M when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 74.48% of users gave Danaher an outperform vote while only 59.32% of users gave 3M an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Danaher	Outperform Votes 1065 74.48%	Underperform Votes 365 25.52%
3M	Outperform Votes 913 59.32%	Underperform Votes 626 40.68%

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 1.9%. 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.

Which has more risk and volatility, DHR or MMM?

Danaher has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 3M has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in DHR or MMM?

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

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%

Which has preferable valuation and 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	5.94	$3.90B	$5.15	38.38
3M	$24.51B	3.38	$4.17B	$7.92	19.45

Do analysts recommend DHR or MMM?

Danaher currently has a consensus target price of $263.24, suggesting a potential upside of 33.16%. 3M has a consensus target price of $152.08, suggesting a potential downside of 1.29%. Given Danaher's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly 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

Does the media refer more to DHR or MMM?

In the previous week, Danaher had 4 more articles in the media than 3M. MarketBeat recorded 38 mentions for Danaher and 34 mentions for 3M. 3M's average media sentiment score of 1.46 beat Danaher's score of 1.30 indicating that 3M is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Danaher	28 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
3M	30 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

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