Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,023 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 0.5 %

MMM traded up $0.50 on Tuesday, reaching $93.12. 2,459,779 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,786,631. The company’s 50 day moving average is $95.72 and its 200-day moving average is $97.40. The company has a market cap of $51.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.44, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $95.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted 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 firm 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 company earned $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.49%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.82%.

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.