Gradient Investments LLC Grows Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 44.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 356 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,246,367,000 after acquiring an additional 377,703 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,320,649,000 after acquiring an additional 43,732 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at $502,585,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of 3M by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,531,722 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $480,680,000 after buying an additional 435,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in 3M by 313.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010,319 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $127.05 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.13. 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 fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $128.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Argus upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.57.

3M Company 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.