Rakuten Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $159,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fragasso Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 3.8% in the third quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.2% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 836 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 13,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 10,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

3M Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $90.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $50.33 billion, a PE ratio of -7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $95.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.26.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.64%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.