Stephens Consulting LLC Grows Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,595 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in 3M by 419.1% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM traded up $1.78 on Friday, hitting $134.69. 5,839,092 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,224,743. The firm has a market cap of $74.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $134.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. HSBC raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Vertical Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.57.

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.