Apollon Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,037 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter worth about $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 179.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,107,000 after purchasing an additional 526,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of 3M by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $151,002,000 after purchasing an additional 308,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MMM shares. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction 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 $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Down 1.6 %

3M stock opened at $149.90 on Monday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $137.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market capitalization of $81.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.