Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 2,050 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 262,119 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in 3M were worth $27,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 419.1% in 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 during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Wolfe Research raised 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Vertical Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.17.

3M Price Performance

Shares of 3M stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $104.35. 957,779 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,296,368. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.64. 3M has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $106.04. The company has a market cap of $57.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.18, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $101.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.79.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio 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.