Fiera Capital Corp Invests $5.29 Million in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp invested approximately $5.29 million in 3M Company by acquiring 36,013 shares during the first quarter.
• 3M Company reported earnings of $2.16 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.15, with a 1.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.99%.

Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 36,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $5,289,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intelligent Financial Strategies purchased a new position in 3M in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup lifted 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. Barclays set a $170.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target 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. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.10.

3M Trading Down 3.2%

3M stock traded down $4.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $144.38. The company had a trading volume of 4,074,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,047,933. 3M Company has a 1-year low of $119.31 and a 1-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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $149.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.65. The stock has a market cap of $76.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.05.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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 paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.