Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Underperform” Rating for 3M (NYSE:MMM)

3M (NYSE:MMM)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $96.00 price target on the conglomerate’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential downside of 35.85% from the company’s current price.

MMM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $149.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.09 and a 200-day moving average of $128.67. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $152.08. The company has a market capitalization of $81.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 97.19% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5,770,390 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.