3M Company (NYSE:MMM) Shares Purchased by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stock holdings in 3M Company by 50.7% in the first quarter, now owning 172,754 shares worth approximately $25.37 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 65.25% of 3M's stock, with multiple hedge funds significantly increasing their positions during the fourth quarter.
• 3M recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.9%.

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 50.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,754 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 58,100 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in 3M were worth $25,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,580 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,690 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 9,744 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays set a $170.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.10.

3M Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of 3M stock traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $153.33. 2,375,683 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,166,032. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.05. 3M Company has a twelve month low of $121.98 and a twelve month 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. The business 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the completion of 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. Insiders have sold a total of 25,316 shares of company stock valued at $3,780,296 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.