Stonegate Investment Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 13,473 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $34,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in 3M by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,185 shares in the last quarter. True Vision MN LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the 2nd quarter worth $512,000. Clifford Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 171,152 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,490,000 after acquiring an additional 30,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albar Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in 3M during the 2nd quarter worth $7,319,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. StockNews.com cut shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 3M from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.57.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $134.49. The stock had a trading volume of 403,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,881,847. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.42 billion, a PE ratio of -10.67, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $140.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $132.45 and its 200 day moving average is $112.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was 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 $21,486,484.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.