Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Purchases New Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 325,525 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $33,265,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.06% of 3M at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in 3M by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 3,326 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in 3M by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in 3M by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,638 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MMM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research raised 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research 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.com, 3M currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.43.

3M Price Performance

MMM opened at $132.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $134.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.05. The stock has a market cap of $73.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.2 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.