3M (NYSE:MMM) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $184.00 price objective on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $130.00.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MMM. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $1.82 on Wednesday, reaching $129.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,929,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,844,047. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.87. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MMM. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.9% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.9% during the second quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.5% during the third quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 16,186 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the third quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,464 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Company Profile

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.