3M (NYSE:MMM) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

MMM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised 3M from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho boosted their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $185.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.36.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $173.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a 1 year low of $139.34 and a 1 year high of $184.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.21. The firm has a market cap of $89.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.99.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.61 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 123.11% and a net margin of 14.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 46.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Karin Chavez sold 3,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $663,423.85. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,561,527.85. This represents a 20.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.5% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 956 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI bought a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth about $442,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,115 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 1,854 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 20,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 41,434 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,801,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Company Profile

3M is a diversified technology and manufacturing company headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1902 as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, it developed from a mining venture into a global enterprise known for applying materials science and engineering to a broad range of industrial, commercial and consumer applications.

The company develops and manufactures products including adhesives, abrasives, filtration systems, personal protective equipment, medical and dental supplies, electrical and electronic materials, automotive components, reflective materials and workplace safety solutions.