3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 96,536 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $12,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in 3M by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in 3M by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,564.70. This represents a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock opened at $150.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.15. 3M has a 52 week low of $85.62 and a 52 week high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MMM shares. Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Company 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.