Peterson Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,007 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $138,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 3M by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,617,000 after purchasing an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $506,135,000 after purchasing an additional 97,340 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 3M by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $258,686,000 after purchasing an additional 396,773 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in 3M by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,940,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $198,298,000 after purchasing an additional 11,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter worth $165,986,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $129.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $141.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $132.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.01.

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

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup upped 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. Mizuho upped their price objective on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

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.