Herold Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Herold Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,258 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 15.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 110,988 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,391,000 after buying an additional 14,775 shares in the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 49.7% in the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,568,000 after buying an additional 5,561 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management purchased a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $1,723,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in 3M during the third quarter worth about $11,908,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MMM stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,519,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,728,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $50.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.37. 3M has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $95.67.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at 3M

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

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.