Barclays Increases 3M (NYSE:MMM) Price Target to $160.00

3M (NYSE:MMM) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Barclays from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the conglomerate’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.70% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.50.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $135.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,104,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,033,071. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $140.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.91. The firm has a market cap of $75.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.71, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 46,331 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,065,000 after buying an additional 2,421 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in 3M by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 82,200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,986,000 after purchasing an additional 43,733 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in 3M by 423.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 81,995 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,964,000 after purchasing an additional 66,327 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $403,000. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $2,090,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Company Profile

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.