468,623 Shares in 3M Company $MMM Acquired by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI invested approximately $68.82 million in 3M Company, acquiring 468,623 shares during the first quarter, representing a 0.09% stake in the conglomerate.
• Several institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd. and Alliancebernstein L.P., have also increased their holdings in 3M, showcasing a trend of growing institutional interest in the company.
• 3M recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, with a yield of 1.9%, reflecting a solid annualized payout of $2.92.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 468,623 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $68,822,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.09% of 3M as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $523,740.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This represents a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the 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 directly owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,522. The trade was a 68.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MMM. Barclays set a $170.00 price target on 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price objective on 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.78.

3M Price Performance

MMM traded down $1.54 on Friday, reaching $157.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,865,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,741,733. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. 3M Company has a fifty-two week low of $121.98 and a fifty-two week high of $164.15. The company has a market capitalization of $84.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.94 and a 200-day moving average of $147.89.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

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.