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

Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $68,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 22.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 35,789 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,796,000 after purchasing an additional 6,513 shares during the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its holdings in 3M by 368.9% during the first quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 51,011 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,411,000 after purchasing an additional 40,131 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its holdings in 3M by 322.5% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 17,245 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after purchasing an additional 13,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in 3M by 85.7% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 26,830 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,846,000 after purchasing an additional 12,384 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on 3M in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on 3M from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.0 %

MMM stock opened at $135.75 on Wednesday. 3M has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $140.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.97 and its 200 day moving average is $111.97. The stock has a market cap of $75.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

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.