HTLF Bank Acquires Shares of 12,977 3M (NYSE:MMM)

HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,977 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,419,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in shares of 3M by 15.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 110,988 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,391,000 after acquiring an additional 14,775 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the third quarter worth approximately $3,855,000. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 49.7% in the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,561 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,723,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’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 $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.00. 914,979 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,832,402. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $95.67. The company has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.22.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The business had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.57%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -47.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

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.