NewEdge Advisors LLC Boosts Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,220 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $6,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth $219,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in 3M by 407.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 205,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $22,432,000 after buying an additional 164,763 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in 3M by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,736 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 46,331 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,065,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holderness Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 6,149 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research raised shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.43.

3M Trading Up 0.3 %

MMM opened at $137.06 on Wednesday. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $140.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $129.26 and a 200 day moving average of $109.91. The firm has a market cap of $75.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.78, a P/E/G 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for 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 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.