FORA Capital LLC Invests $1.11 Million in 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has made a new investment in 3M Company, purchasing 7,534 shares valued at approximately $1.1 million in the first quarter.
• Insider sales include Christian T. Goralski, Jr., who sold over 6,100 shares at nearly $926,000, resulting in a significant reduction of his stock ownership.
• Analysts have set a target price range for 3M shares, with JPMorgan estimating a price of $167, while the average target price stands at $158.10.

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,534 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,498,809 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $660,695,000 after purchasing an additional 30,260 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,270,238 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $551,245,000 after purchasing an additional 172,815 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.7% in the 4th 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,122,020 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $458,500,000 after purchasing an additional 199,944 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,516,729 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $369,530,000 after purchasing an additional 383,539 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Stock Down 1.4%

MMM stock traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $155.42. 3,278,497 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,968,160. The firm's 50-day moving average is $153.32 and its 200-day moving average is $147.47. The company has a market cap of $82.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.20. 3M Company has a 12 month low of $121.98 and a 12 month high of $164.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.09 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 96.48% and a net margin of 16.01%.3M's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. 3M's payout ratio is 40.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective 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 objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at $385,763.43. The trade was a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $925,859.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,522. This trade represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.