Albar Capital Ltd Buys Shares of 71,617 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Albar Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 71,617 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $7,319,000. 3M makes up about 1.1% of Albar Capital Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 0.4% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 22,613 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,311,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 3.1% during the second quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 3,326 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 11.4% in the first quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction 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 business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com cut 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, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.43.

3M Stock Performance

MMM opened at $137.29 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $125.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.63. 3M has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $137.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

3M Company 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.