Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 116,854 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in 3M were worth $15,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the first quarter valued at $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 8.6% during the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 17,211 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 118.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 689.7% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $124.75 on Friday. 3M has a 1-year low of $72.47 and a 1-year high of $141.34. The stock has a market cap of $68.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.26 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.67.

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.