Amundi Grows Holdings in 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in 3M Company by 20.7% in the first quarter, now holding approximately $423.47 million worth of shares.
• 3M reported earnings of $2.16 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue up 1.4% year-over-year.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share has been announced, with a dividend yield of 1.9%, payable to investors of record on August 25th.

Amundi lifted its position in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,030,397 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 519,302 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.56% of 3M worth $423,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in 3M by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,898 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in 3M by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,751 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in 3M by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in 3M by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 23,914 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,213 shares during the period. Finally, Collar Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $2,347,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.78.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,522. The trade was a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total transaction of $523,740.51. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $152.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 670,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,746,428. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.72. 3M Company has a one year low of $121.98 and a one year high of $164.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.04.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.09 billion. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. 3M's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

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

About 3M

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.