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

Weiss Ratings restated their hold (c+) rating on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in a report issued on Tuesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.47.

3M Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $127.14 on Tuesday. 3M has a 1 year low of $90.17 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $147.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.41. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $68.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. Analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in 3M by 1.4% during 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. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $18,408,000 after buying an additional 22,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.