3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Acquired by Diligent Investors LLC

Diligent Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the quarter. Diligent Investors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fragasso Group Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 836 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 13,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bollard Group LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 5,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 65.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of 3M from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $98.00 to $107.00 in a report on Monday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.70.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MMM stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $104.77. 5,536,676 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,050,828. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $85.35 and a fifty-two week high of $113.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $57.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.76.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 9.82 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.77%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.82%.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.