3M’s (MMM) Hold (C+) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings restated their hold (c+) rating on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in a report released on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $146.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $79.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1 year low of $78.14 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $636,767,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $576,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,110,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in 3M by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.