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 research note published on Saturday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MMM. Citigroup lifted their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $153.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 12 month low of $85.62 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The stock has a market cap of $83.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.71.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s 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 owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. FMR LLC increased its position in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $576,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,619 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $175,110,000. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $794,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is 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.