MCF Advisors LLC Grows Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,590,533,000 after buying an additional 317,483 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,320,649,000 after purchasing an additional 43,732 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 1,273.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $413,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in 3M by 313.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after buying an additional 2,010,319 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, June 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

3M Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MMM traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $102.19. 6,196,466 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,668,111. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.23 and a 200 day moving average of $99.28. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $106.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The stock has a market cap of $56.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.01%.

About 3M

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.