3M Company $MMM Stock: Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Holdings

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 36.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 373,137 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,871 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in 3M were worth $61,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Security National Bank of SO Dak bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the second quarter worth $32,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 2,387.5% during the third quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 199 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Trellis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $191.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. HSBC raised shares of 3M to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of 3M from $171.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $190.07.

3M Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of 3M stock traded down $2.67 on Friday, reaching $183.57. 2,521,291 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,041,585. The company has a market capitalization of $94.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. 3M Company has a one year low of $139.34 and a one year high of $196.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.64 and a 200 day moving average of $162.50.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.12. 3M had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 123.11%. The business had revenue of $6.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

3M declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 4th that permits the company to repurchase $6 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to buy up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 46.50%.

3M Profile

3M is a diversified science and manufacturing company that develops products for businesses and consumers. Its offerings include workplace safety equipment, adhesives and abrasives, filtration materials, automotive and electronics components, and home and office products such as Post-it Notes and Scotch brand tapes. Founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, 3M began as a mining venture before expanding into materials science and industrial manufacturing. The company adopted the name 3M in 2002 and is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota.