3M (NYSE:MMM) Upgraded to “Overweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $111.00 target price on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their previous target price of $110.00.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MMM. Citigroup lifted their target price on 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America lowered their target price on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised 3M from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $103.70.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MMM opened at $97.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.14 and a 200-day moving average of $97.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $99.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.64.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -47.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 1,273.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $413,637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508,334 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in 3M by 313.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010,319 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 157.2% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $197,377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 8,766.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $118,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068,748 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.