Q3 Preview: 3M (MMM) Shares Moving Down Ahead of EPS

Shares of 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) are down $1.55 or 1.71 percent to $88.92 in midday market movement on Wednesday, ahead of the company's third-quarter results scheduled to be released Thursday before the opening bell.

The company is expected by analysts to report third-quarter earnings of $.51 per share on sales of $6.83 billion.

3M reported second-quarter earnings of $1.54 per share, 6 cents better than the analyst estimate of $1.48 per share. Second-quarter revenue for the company was $6.7 billion, compared to the Street's view of $6.66 billion.

Since the start of the third quarter shares of the company are up $2.23 or 2.57 percent. Year-to-date the stock has risen $6.36 or 7.69 percent.

A valuation shows that 3M is going for a forward P/E of 16.26x full-year 2010 estimates.

Data from Bloomberg shows that 14 analysts have a Buy rating on 3M, 2 have Hold and 4 have a Sell. The average analyst price target of $100 with a target range of $87 to $112.

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