Strong Tower Advisory Services Purchases 2,020 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,715 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,020 shares during the period. 3M comprises approximately 1.6% of Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in 3M were worth $6,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,021 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in 3M by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,686 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $887,000. Clarius Group LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.13.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $141.02 on Monday. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $141.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $76.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.74.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 35.35%.

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.