Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. Takes Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,802 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 689.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in 3M by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 356 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MMM shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.87.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $128.42 on Friday. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $69.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.11.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The firm’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

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.