3M Company (NYSE:MMM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $169.0909.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $160.00 target price on 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on 3M from $179.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered 3M from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on 3M from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

3M Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:MMM opened at $152.50 on Tuesday. 3M has a 12-month low of $124.65 and a 12-month high of $177.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.50.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The conglomerate reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.03. 3M had a return on equity of 95.36% and a net margin of 13.03%.The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. 3M has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.50-8.700 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.00%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 5,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.75, for a total value of $888,798.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $446,558.75. The trade was a 66.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,009,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 806.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 314,460 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $50,345,000 after acquiring an additional 279,757 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 271,777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $43,511,000 after acquiring an additional 4,101 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of 3M by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 156,676 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,084,000 after acquiring an additional 4,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 136,141 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $21,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,077 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About 3M

3M Company, originally founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is a diversified global technology and manufacturing firm headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Over its history the company has expanded from mineral mining into a broad portfolio of industrial, safety, healthcare and consumer products, building a reputation for applied science and product innovation across many end markets.

3M’s businesses span a wide range of product categories including adhesives and tapes, abrasives, filtration and separation technologies, personal protective equipment such as respirators, medical and dental products, industrial and automotive solutions, and a suite of consumer brands (for example, well-known office and home products).