Ieq Capital LLC Has $16.12 Million Position in 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in 3M Company (MMM) by 40.5%, owning 109,736 shares worth approximately $16.1 million after purchasing an additional 31,645 shares.
• Insiders at 3M, including Christian T. Goralski, Jr. and CAO Theresa E. Reinseth, recently sold thousands of shares, significantly reducing their holdings by 68.01% and 57.59%, respectively.
• Wall Street analysts hold a consensus rating of "Hold" for 3M, with a target price averaging around $158.10, while the company has a strong quarterly performance with a net margin of 16.01% and revenue growth of 1.4% year-over-year.

Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 40.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,736 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 31,645 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $16,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of 3M by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 642,354 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $82,921,000 after buying an additional 145,146 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,506,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,486 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. acquired a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $786,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Trading Down 1.4%

MMM traded down $2.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $155.42. 3,278,497 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,968,160. 3M Company has a one year low of $121.98 and a one year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $82.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $153.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.47.

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

3M Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,522. This represents a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.10.

3M 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.