UBS Group Upgrades 3M (NYSE:MMM) to “Buy”

3M (NYSE:MMM) was upgraded by UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $184.00 price objective on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $130.00. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 39.06% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MMM. Melius raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.87.

3M Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE MMM opened at $132.32 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.50. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34. The firm has a market cap of $72.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the first quarter worth about $165,986,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in 3M by 218.3% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,489,351 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $147,344,000 after buying an additional 1,021,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in 3M by 1,015.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 888,564 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $94,247,000 after acquiring an additional 808,914 shares during the last quarter. 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.