Stonegate Investment Group LLC Acquires 8,935 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 261,782 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,935 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $33,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,842 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,293,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,960 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 6,348 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 792.3% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 37,432 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,832,000 after acquiring an additional 33,237 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $151.44 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 $152.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $132.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.55. The firm has a market cap of $82.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,903 shares of company stock valued at $8,082,186. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.