Bell Investment Advisors Inc Boosts Stock Holdings 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 position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 4,114.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,299 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 4,197 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc's holdings in 3M were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 grew its holdings in shares of 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. KKM Financial LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. KKM Financial LLC now owns 18,802 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in 3M by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,624,933 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $467,944,000 after purchasing an additional 193,957 shares during the period. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,471,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $925,859.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,522. This represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE MMM traded down $1.54 on Friday, hitting $157.93. 2,858,282 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,738,019. 3M Company has a 52-week low of $121.98 and a 52-week high of $164.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.89.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.15. 3M had a return on equity of 96.48% and a net margin of 16.01%.The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.61%.

3M Company 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.