Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Acquires 249 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the second quarter valued at approximately $822,000. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in 3M by 65.7% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 18,203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 7,217 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 18.6% during the second quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,917 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 2,805 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,205,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in 3M by 17.6% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 200,902 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,524,000 after acquiring an additional 30,136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Friday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.43.

3M Stock Down 0.1 %

MMM stock opened at $128.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a PE ratio of -10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $119.04 and its 200 day moving average is $105.43. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $134.99.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.2 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be given 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 is presently -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.