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

Weiss Ratings reaffirmed their hold (c+) rating on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in a research note released on Tuesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on MMM. Barclays increased their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.13.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $132.84 on Tuesday. 3M has a 12-month low of $90.17 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $146.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.40.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of 3M

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in 3M by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $576,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,619 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $175,110,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in 3M by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $794,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in 3M by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $337,815,000 after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.