3M (NYSE:MMM) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

MMM has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $190.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $178.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on 3M from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on 3M from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.21.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $169.37 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.60. The firm has a market cap of $87.35 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.01. 3M has a 12-month low of $139.34 and a 12-month high of $184.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.40 billion. 3M had a net margin of 11.90% and a return on equity of 115.87%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. 3M has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.800-8.950 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 8.96 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. 3M’s payout ratio is 55.42%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Karin Chavez sold 3,635 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,035 shares in the company, valued at $2,561,527.85. This trade represents a 20.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 6.8% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,039 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,988,000 after buying an additional 4,738 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in 3M by 18.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 34,029 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,510,000 after acquiring an additional 5,256 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,828,966 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,505,788,000 after acquiring an additional 105,222 shares during the period. MAC Alpha Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in 3M in the second quarter valued at $353,000. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Company Profile

3M Company is a diversified technology and manufacturing company headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1902 as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, it initially supplied abrasives and other materials before expanding into a broad range of science-based products and technologies.

The company develops products for industrial, transportation, electronics, safety and consumer markets. Its offerings include personal protective equipment, industrial adhesives and tapes, abrasives, filtration products, electrical materials, automotive solutions, medical and dental products, and consumer brands such as Post-it Notes and Scotch products.