3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Acquired by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 94.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,463 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,044 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 1st quarter valued at about $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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $128.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.43. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $134.99.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Vertical Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.