Wedmont Private Capital Increases Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 19.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,474 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in 3M were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 22,613 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,311,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of 3M by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 3,326 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $134.75 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $140.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.50. The firm has a market cap of $74.57 billion, a PE ratio of -10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.64.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M 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 transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other 3M 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 transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.