3M (NYSE:MMM) Given New $160.00 Price Target at Citigroup

3M (NYSE:MMM) had its price target boosted by Citigroup from $141.00 to $160.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.46.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock opened at $148.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market capitalization of $79.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a 12 month low of $97.42 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $141.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.69.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 3M by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,493,655,000 after acquiring an additional 280,048 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in 3M by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $871,738,000 after acquiring an additional 755,155 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in 3M by 25.4% during 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in 3M by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter worth $636,767,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.