JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for 3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price

3M (NYSE:MMM) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $162.00 to $165.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MMM. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Melius upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $149.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $152.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $131.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.53.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5,770,390 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in 3M by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 165,119 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $16,874,000 after acquiring an additional 10,309 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the second quarter worth approximately $387,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 14.6% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in 3M by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,380 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after buying an additional 9,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in 3M by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 105,867 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,819,000 after buying an additional 39,717 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.