AIA Group Ltd Purchases Shares of 2,251 3M (NYSE:MMM)

AIA Group Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,251 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,590,533,000 after buying an additional 317,483 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.7% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,474,791 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,203,635,000 after buying an additional 619,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 7.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,315,417 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,684,639,000 after buying an additional 758,126 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,769,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,291,535,000 after buying an additional 825,223 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 0.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,413,149 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,103,670,000 after buying an additional 44,714 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $92.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.24. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $95.67.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target 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. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

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.