Snider Financial Group Makes New Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Snider Financial Group acquired a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,918 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cypress Capital Group lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 54,248 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,003,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 609,429 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $78,671,000 after purchasing an additional 206,398 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $461,761,000 after buying an additional 17,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, James Reed Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $327,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock opened at $145.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.53 and a 200-day moving average of $135.87. The stock has a market cap of $79.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 52 week low of $76.56 and a 52 week high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

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.