3M’s (MMM) Underperform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their underperform rating on shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $96.00 target price on the conglomerate’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $150.48 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $142.21 and its 200-day moving average is $135.20. 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 $81.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 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.