3M (NYSE:MMM) Stake Lifted by Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV

Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV raised its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,725 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. 3M comprises 2.3% of Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth $816,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $150.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1 year low of $85.62 and a 1 year high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

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.