Berger Financial Group Inc Boosts Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Berger Financial Group Inc raised its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,457 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 160 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 129,273 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $16,688,000 after buying an additional 63,469 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $40,353,000. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 17,689 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $175,110,000. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 117.7% during the fourth quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 664,115 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $85,731,000 after purchasing an additional 359,115 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $137.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $91.56 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The company has a market capitalization of $73.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.27.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. Analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

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.