3M (NYSE:MMM) Price Target Raised to $135.00

3M (NYSE:MMM) had its price target lifted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $132.00 to $135.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an underperform rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on 3M from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings lowered 3M from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Mizuho boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on 3M from $171.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.36.

3M Stock Down 1.1%

3M stock opened at $173.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $168.84 and its 200-day moving average is $162.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.99. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $139.34 and a fifty-two week high of $184.90.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.12. 3M had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 123.11%. The business had revenue of $6.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.19 EPS. 3M’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 46.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Karin Chavez sold 3,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $663,423.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 14,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,561,527.85. This represents a 20.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,828,966 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,505,788,000 after buying an additional 105,222 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of 3M by 67.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 4,536,148 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819,178 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 7.4% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,935,534 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $637,202,000 after acquiring an additional 270,458 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of 3M by 3.6% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,401,543 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $226,924,000 after acquiring an additional 48,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.2% in the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 376,784 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $61,849,000 after buying an additional 4,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Company Profile

3M is a diversified technology and manufacturing company headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1902 as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, it developed from a mining venture into a global enterprise known for applying materials science and engineering to a broad range of industrial, commercial and consumer applications.

The company develops and manufactures products including adhesives, abrasives, filtration systems, personal protective equipment, medical and dental supplies, electrical and electronic materials, automotive components, reflective materials and workplace safety solutions.