Stonegate Investment Group LLC Raises Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $34,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,246,367,000 after acquiring an additional 377,703 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 11.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,617,000 after buying an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 2.0% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $506,135,000 after buying an additional 97,340 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 18.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $258,686,000 after buying an additional 396,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 8.2% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,168,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $228,875,000 after purchasing an additional 164,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s 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 $541,659.68. This 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 currently owned by insiders.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $134.49. 403,913 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,881,847. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $132.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.30. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $140.72. The stock has a market cap of $74.42 billion, a PE ratio of -10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. 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 prior year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMM. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.57.

3M 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.