Blair William & Co. IL Purchases 3,645 Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in 3M Company by 4.4% in the first quarter, totaling 86,264 shares worth approximately $12.67 million.
• 3M recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.16 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.01, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.4%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, yielding 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 40.61%.

Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,264 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 3,645 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in 3M were worth $12,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MMM. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the first quarter worth approximately $238,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in 3M by 121.6% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,835 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 172,012 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,262,000 after buying an additional 18,122 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its position in 3M by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 15,417 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,264,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its stake in 3M by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 19,338 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup upped 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. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.10.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,636,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,264,465. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.05. 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.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 EPS 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 business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. 3M's payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of 3M stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at $385,763.43. This represents a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,151 shares of company stock valued at $2,854,437 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.