Bell Investment Advisors Inc Grows Stake in 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Bell Investment Advisors Inc significantly increased its stake in 3M Company, raising its position by 4,114.7% to a total of 4,299 shares worth $631,000.
• 3M Company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.16, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.01, and a revenue of $6.16 billion, showing a 1.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, yielding 1.9%, with the payment scheduled for September 12th.

Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its stake in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 4,114.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,299 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 4,197 shares during the quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc's holdings in 3M were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 88.7% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in 3M during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $157.93. 2,865,088 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,572,781. 3M Company has a 1 year low of $121.98 and a 1 year high of $164.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $154.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.04. 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 (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. 3M's payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $925,859.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,522. The trade was a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total transaction of $523,740.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price target on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.78.

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.