3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

3M (NYSE:MMM) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $120.00 to $130.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the conglomerate’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price points to a potential downside of 24.22% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 3M from $170.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $160.00 target price on 3M and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.67.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $171.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $91.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54. 3M has a 52 week low of $121.98 and a 52 week high of $171.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $155.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.61.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.38 billion during the quarter. 3M had a return on equity of 98.47% and a net margin of 13.70%. Equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $925,859.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,522. The trade was a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total value of $523,740.51. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. The trade was a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MMM. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 429,850 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $63,128,000 after acquiring an additional 7,620 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter valued at $2,506,000. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 372.2% in the first quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,833 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 6,174 shares during the period. MFG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter worth $1,059,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 0.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,689,348 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $248,098,000 after buying an additional 9,064 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently 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.