Man Group plc Grows Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Man Group plc raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 111,843 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 29,845 shares during the period. Man Group plc’s holdings in 3M were worth $14,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $576,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $175,110,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $794,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $337,815,000 after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.08.

3M Stock Up 2.9%

NYSE:MMM opened at $153.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $82.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a twelve month low of $96.76 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $141.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.40.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

3M Company 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.