Berger Financial Group Inc Raises Position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Key Points

• Berger Financial Group Inc increased its stake in 3M Company by 19.5%, owning 11,299 shares worth $1,659,000 as of the end of the last quarter.
• Insider transactions included Christian T. Goralski, Jr. selling 6,165 shares for approximately $926,000, marking a 68.01% decrease in his ownership, while CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares for about $524,000.
• 3M reported earnings of $2.16 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, and the company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share.

Berger Financial Group Inc grew its stake in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 19.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,299 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc's holdings in 3M were worth $1,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in 3M during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies bought a new position in 3M during the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its holdings in 3M by 173.6% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 301 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock traded up $2.55 on Tuesday, reaching $157.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,748,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,184,427. The company has a market capitalization of $84.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. 3M Company has a 12-month low of $121.98 and a 12-month high of $164.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $150.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.06.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.09 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 96.48% and a net margin of 16.01%. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,522. This trade represents a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total value of $523,740.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at $385,763.43. The trade was a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,316 shares of company stock valued at $3,780,296 over the last three months. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.