3M (MMM) Upgraded by Hilliard Lyons to “Buy”

3M (NYSE:MMM) was upgraded by equities researchers at Hilliard Lyons from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Investment Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $278.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on 3M in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $208.00) on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $268.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank raised their price objective on 3M from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.55.

3M (NYSE:MMM) opened at $246.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147,410.00, a PE ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.47. 3M has a 12-month low of $173.55 and a 12-month high of $249.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The conglomerate reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $8.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 48.55% and a net margin of 17.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 9.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, Chairman Inge G. Thulin sold 6,823 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.14, for a total transaction of $1,590,714.22. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 196,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,906,664.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Ivan K. Fong sold 2,348 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.12, for a total value of $547,365.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 24,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,706,544.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,804 shares of company stock worth $5,303,706 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kopp Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in 3M by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kopp Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,281 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in 3M by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 688 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in 3M by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 3,888 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $809,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 3M by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 5,211 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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About 3M

3M Company is a technology company. It operates through five segments. The Industrial segment serves a range of markets, such as automotive original equipment manufacturer and automotive aftermarket, , appliance, paper and printing, packaging, food and beverage, and construction. The Safety and Graphics segment serves a range of markets for the safety, security and productivity of people, facilities and systems.