Focus Partners Wealth Buys 10,049 Shares of 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in 3M Company by 7.3%, acquiring an additional 10,049 shares, bringing its total holdings to 147,331 shares valued at $21.6 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Retirement Systems of Alabama and Synergy Asset Management LLC, significantly increased their positions in 3M in the first quarter of the year.
• 3M's stock received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target of $161.78 following various upgrades and recommendations from firms like Citigroup and Barclays.

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,331 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 10,049 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in 3M were worth $21,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,506,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 122.7% during the 1st quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $663,000 after acquiring an additional 2,486 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $786,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 210.6% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 366,236 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $53,785,000 after acquiring an additional 248,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $159.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $153.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.89. 3M Company has a one year low of $121.98 and a one year high of $164.15. The firm has a market cap of $84.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.04.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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