Sapient Capital LLC Invests $886,000 in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,107 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $886,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 4.4% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,620 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 3.2% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,674 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 6,529 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 120,123 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $11,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 75.4% during the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 3,507 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Trading Up 0.4 %

MMM stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.15. 4,818,713 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,770,578. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. 3M has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $99.70.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 3M from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price target on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised 3M from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.70.

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.