Stephens Consulting LLC Boosts Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 151.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,495 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in 3M by 1.9% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in 3M by 0.8% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday. Mizuho raised their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Stock Down 1.4 %

MMM stock opened at $150.13 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $135.21 and a 200 day moving average of $131.26.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M 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.