Spring Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Spring Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,657 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,594 shares during the period. 3M accounts for 2.0% of Spring Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Spring Capital Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Cresta Advisors Ltd. lifted its stake in 3M by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Cresta Advisors Ltd. now owns 3,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $324,000. Alhambra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Abundance Wealth Counselors increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 6,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 20,054 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,192,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $111.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.60.

3M Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MMM opened at $104.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $96.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.74. 3M has a twelve month low of $85.35 and a twelve month high of $113.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.28, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that 3M will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.79%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About 3M

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.