3M Company (NYSE:MMM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $161.7778.

MMM has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,522. This trade represents a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total value of $523,740.51. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $155.29 on Monday. 3M has a 12 month low of $121.98 and a 12 month high of $164.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.66. The firm has a market cap of $82.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.15. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

About 3M

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.