Blair William & Co. IL Boosts Stock Position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,264 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 3,645 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in 3M were worth $12,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in 3M by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $871,738,000 after buying an additional 755,155 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in 3M by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in 3M by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $576,845,000 after buying an additional 1,520,619 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in 3M by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,270,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $551,245,000 after buying an additional 172,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,624,933 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $467,944,000 after purchasing an additional 193,957 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $147.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. The company has a market cap of $78.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.05. 3M Company has a 52 week low of $119.31 and a 52 week high of $164.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.81.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. 3M’s payout ratio is 40.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,654,663.64. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.10.

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.