IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Grows Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,362 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth $502,585,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 313.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010,319 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth $165,986,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 157.2% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $197,377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 218.3% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,489,351 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $147,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,440 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Vertical Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Wolfe Research raised shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.57.

3M Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $133.52. 1,629,104 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,198,179. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.88 billion, a PE ratio of -10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $114.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $133.93.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.