3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Position Lifted by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP boosted its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,499 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the quarter. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in 3M by 89.9% during 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 last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in 3M in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in 3M by 91.9% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel acquired a new stake in 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.70.

3M Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MMM stock traded up $0.34 on Friday, reaching $97.15. The company had a trading volume of 4,818,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,770,578. The stock has a market cap of $53.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $96.14 and a 200-day moving average of $97.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $99.70.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.23 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 issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.48%.

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.