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

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in 3M were worth $387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Vision MN LLC bought a new position in 3M during the second quarter valued at $512,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Bank of America upped their price target on 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.13.

3M Stock Up 0.6 %

MMM stock opened at $138.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $130.90 and its 200 day moving average is $127.12. The stock has a market cap of $75.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

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.