Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Increases Position in 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 3M Company by 2.1% during Q2, with 77,624 shares valued at $11.8 million.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by Christian T. Goralski, Jr. and CAO Theresa E. Reinseth, decreasing their ownership stakes by 68.01% and 57.59%, respectively.
• Wall Street analysts have issued a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for 3M, with a price target averaging $164.10, indicating potential growth for the stock.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,624 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $11,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 429,850 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $63,128,000 after buying an additional 7,620 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,506,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 3M by 122.7% in the first 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. purchased a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the 1st quarter valued at $786,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $925,859.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $435,522. This represents a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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. This represents a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Barclays set a $170.00 price target on 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 note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of 3M from $177.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded 3M from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $164.10.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $158.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company's fifty day moving average price is $154.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.56. 3M Company has a 1-year low of $121.98 and a 1-year high of $164.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.05.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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