3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Bought by Leelyn Smith LLC

Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,236 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 3M by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,246,367,000 after buying an additional 377,703 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in 3M by 11.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $517,617,000 after buying an additional 533,520 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $502,585,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in 3M by 313.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $289,803,000 after buying an additional 2,010,319 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in 3M by 8.2% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,168,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $228,875,000 after buying an additional 164,236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.43.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $133.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $121.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.34. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $134.99. The company has a market capitalization of $73.16 billion, a PE ratio of -10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that 3M will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.01%.

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.