3M (NYSE:MMM) Receives “Hold (C)” Rating from Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reaffirmed their hold (c) rating on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities 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, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $150.11 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $139.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.31. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $81.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $636,767,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in 3M by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $576,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $175,110,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 3M by 11,601.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $172,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,491 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.