Golden State Equity Partners Acquires 5,934 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Golden State Equity Partners raised its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 179.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,235 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,934 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in 3M were worth $1,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 377,703 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 11.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $506,135,000 after acquiring an additional 97,340 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in 3M by 18.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $258,686,000 after purchasing an additional 396,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 164,236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.91. The stock had a trading volume of 101,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,917,520. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. 3M has a 1-year low of $74.51 and a 1-year high of $141.34. The firm has a market cap of $71.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.16, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $133.10 and its 200-day moving average is $114.71.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s payout ratio is presently -22.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MMM shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on 3M in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the 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 directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.