JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades 3M (NYSE:MMM) to Overweight

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $111.00 price objective on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $110.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised 3M from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $103.70.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock opened at $97.16 on Wednesday. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $99.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $53.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.54.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,590,533,000 after acquiring an additional 317,483 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,320,649,000 after purchasing an additional 43,732 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $502,585,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in 3M by 10.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,531,722 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $480,680,000 after buying an additional 435,439 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,082,950 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $382,246,000 after buying an additional 94,864 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently 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.