Royal Bank of Canada Raises 3M (NYSE:MMM) Price Target to $87.00

3M (NYSE:MMM) had its price objective upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $78.00 to $87.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an underperform rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on MMM. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reissued a neutral rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $103.70.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MMM opened at $97.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.64, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.00. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $99.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $96.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.05 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of 3M

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 419.1% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.