EP Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in 3M Company $MMM

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,812 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in 3M in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total transaction of $523,740.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This represents a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $435,522. This trade represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $151.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.20. 3M Company has a 1 year low of $121.98 and a 1 year high of $164.15. The company has a market capitalization of $80.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $153.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.59.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

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.