Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for 3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock

3M (NYSE:MMM) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the conglomerate’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 19.16% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MMM. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Melius upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of MMM opened at $146.86 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $131.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $150.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of 3M by 6.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 165,119 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $16,874,000 after purchasing an additional 10,309 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at $387,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in 3M by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,380 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,185,000 after buying an additional 9,160 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in 3M by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 105,867 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,819,000 after buying an additional 39,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.