Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades 3M (NYSE:MMM) to Overweight

3M (NYSE:MMM) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $170.00 target price on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their prior target price of $140.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 15.75% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MMM. Barclays increased their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho boosted their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

MMM opened at $146.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $131.40 and a 200 day moving average of $128.20. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $150.00. The stock has a market cap of $79.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MMM. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 17,211 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.