3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Bought by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 29.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,283 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,939 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in 3M were worth $7,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in 3M by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,185 shares during the last quarter. Jade Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,373,000. True Vision MN LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the second quarter worth about $512,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $978,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $134.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $135.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.80.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded 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. 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 MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.43.

3M 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.