Graham Capital Management L.P. Boosts Holdings in 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in 3M Company by 19.7% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 21,404 shares, bringing its total holdings to 130,090 shares valued at approximately $19.1 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., also raised their stakes in 3M, indicating growing institutional interest in the stock.
• 3M recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, representing a 1.9% yield, which will be paid to shareholders of record on August 25th.

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 19.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,090 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 21,404 shares during the period. 3M makes up 0.3% of Graham Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in 3M were worth $19,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in 3M by 26.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,751 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in 3M by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,190 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in 3M by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 152,662 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $19,707,000 after buying an additional 7,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in 3M by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 60,871 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $7,858,000 after buying an additional 8,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.10.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value 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. This represents a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded down $2.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $151.91. 3,688,639 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,786,095. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.04. 3M Company has a 52 week low of $121.98 and a 52 week high of $164.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

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

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.