3M (NYSE:MMM) Cut to “Peer Perform” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research downgraded shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $186.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on 3M from $171.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, September 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of 3M from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $190.07.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM traded down $2.67 on Thursday, reaching $183.57. 2,521,291 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,041,585. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. 3M has a 12 month low of $139.34 and a 12 month high of $196.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.50. The firm has a market cap of $94.86 billion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.01.

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

3M declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 4th that permits the company to repurchase $6 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to reacquire up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 46.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 3M by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,828,966 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,505,788,000 after acquiring an additional 105,222 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of 3M by 67.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,536,148 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819,178 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,935,534 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $637,202,000 after purchasing an additional 270,458 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in 3M by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,401,543 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $226,924,000 after purchasing an additional 48,167 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in 3M by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,261,222 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $207,029,000 after purchasing an additional 211,196 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Company Profile

3M is a diversified science and manufacturing company that develops products for businesses and consumers. Its offerings include workplace safety equipment, adhesives and abrasives, filtration materials, automotive and electronics components, and home and office products such as Post-it Notes and Scotch brand tapes. Founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, 3M began as a mining venture before expanding into materials science and industrial manufacturing. The company adopted the name 3M in 2002 and is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota.