Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC Makes New $270,000 Investment in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Key Points

• Fi3 Financial Advisors LLC has acquired a new position in 3M Company, purchasing 1,841 shares valued at approximately $270,000.
• 3M Company's quarterly earnings topped estimates, reporting an EPS of $2.16 against a consensus estimate of $2.01, with revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,841 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in 3M by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,898 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 513,800 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $66,326,000 after acquiring an additional 39,346 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in 3M by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 228,997 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $29,563,000 after acquiring an additional 25,552 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in 3M by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $576,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its position in 3M by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 418,733 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $54,054,000 after purchasing an additional 44,735 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of 3M stock traded up $1.59 on Friday, reaching $153.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,375,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,166,032. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $149.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.98. 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 1 year low of $121.98 and a 1 year high of $164.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.05.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. 3M's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of 3M 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. The trade was a 57.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of 3M 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,316 shares of company stock valued at $3,780,296. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.10.

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.