Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Grows Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,613 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 419.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 689.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on 3M in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.43.

3M Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE MMM opened at $134.61 on Tuesday. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $135.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.49 billion, a PE ratio of -10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its 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. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s payout ratio is -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.