Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for 3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock

3M (NYSE:MMM) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $170.00 to $176.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the conglomerate’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.10% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of 3M from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of 3M from $177.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.70.

3M Stock Down 0.2%

MMM stock opened at $158.42 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $154.38 and a 200 day moving average of $148.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. 3M has a 52 week low of $121.98 and a 52 week high of $164.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $435,522. This represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 1.8% in the first quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 429,850 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $63,128,000 after purchasing an additional 7,620 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the first quarter worth approximately $2,506,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 3M by 122.7% in the 1st quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 2,486 shares during the period. Northstar Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at about $786,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

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.