3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Up 1.5% After Analyst Upgrade

3M (NYSE:MMM) shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $118.00 to $120.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 3M traded as high as $103.35 and last traded at $103.16. 658,173 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 5,341,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.67.

MMM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research raised 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, June 7th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 10,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in 3M by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of 3M by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,638 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.02. The company has a market cap of $57.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.18, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

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.