3M (NYSE:MMM) Given Neutral Rating at Mizuho

Mizuho reiterated their neutral rating on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $105.00 price target on the conglomerate’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an underperform rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on 3M from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on 3M in a research note on Wednesday. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, Barclays raised 3M from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the company from $111.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $107.60.

3M Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $104.61 on Wednesday. 3M has a twelve month low of $85.35 and a twelve month high of $113.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.82 billion, a PE ratio of -8.26, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The business had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.77%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently -47.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,590,533,000 after acquiring an additional 317,483 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,311,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,334,173,000 after buying an additional 196,238 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,320,649,000 after buying an additional 43,732 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,474,791 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,203,635,000 after buying an additional 619,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in 3M by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,769,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,291,535,000 after buying an additional 825,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

About 3M

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.