3M (NYSE:MMM) Upgraded to Buy at UBS Group

3M (NYSE:MMM) was upgraded by UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $184.00 price objective on the conglomerate’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 41.19% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MMM. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

3M Trading Down 2.0 %

MMM opened at $130.32 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $132.79 and its 200-day moving average is $117.13. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $141.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market cap of $70.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,246,367,000 after purchasing an additional 377,703 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of 3M by 11.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $517,617,000 after buying an additional 533,520 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 2.0% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $506,135,000 after buying an additional 97,340 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 18.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $258,686,000 after buying an additional 396,773 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 3M by 0.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,940,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $198,298,000 after purchasing an additional 11,315 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Company Profile

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.