Steele Capital Management Inc. Increases Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Steele Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 13.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,411 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Steele Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Kowal Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 3,605 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of 3M by 161.2% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 48,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 29,810 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,288 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of 3M by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 31,703 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Vertical Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.58.

3M Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of 3M stock traded down $1.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $100.61. 2,703,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,505,685. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $106.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. Research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.01%.

3M 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.