Curat Global LLC Takes Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,493,655,000 after acquiring an additional 280,048 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in 3M by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $871,738,000 after purchasing an additional 755,155 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in 3M by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $794,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,093 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $636,767,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.46.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock opened at $145.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.25. 3M has a 12-month low of $98.26 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The firm has a market cap of $78.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

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.