Griffin Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 280.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,080 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 25,120 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $5,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in 3M by 51.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $576,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,619 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $175,110,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $337,815,000 after buying an additional 898,244 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 now owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of MMM stock traded down $2.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $142.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,450,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,848,483. 3M has a 12-month low of $98.26 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day moving average is $142.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.78 billion. On average, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. 3M's payout ratio is 36.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.83.

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.