Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,262 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in 3M by 89.9% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MMM traded up $0.39 on Friday, hitting $91.80. The company had a trading volume of 4,519,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,728,667. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $95.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.27, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.58%. 3M’s payout ratio is -47.82%.

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.