3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Purchased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1,015.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 888,564 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 808,914 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.16% of 3M worth $94,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 419.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 387 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Vertical Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.57.

3M Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MMM traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $127.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,840,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,436,213. The company has a market capitalization of $69.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $102.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $128.65.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.01%.

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.