Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 120,393 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $16,458,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after buying an additional 13,473 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,185 shares during the period. Finally, True Vision MN LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at $512,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $129.79 on Monday. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $141.34. The company has a market capitalization of $70.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

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.