Royal Bank of Canada Cuts 3M (NYSE:MMM) Price Target to $96.00

3M (NYSE:MMM) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $100.00 to $96.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an underperform rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.60.

3M Stock Performance

MMM opened at $129.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $70.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $130.12 and a 200-day moving average of $125.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 17,211 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in 3M by 689.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.