3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Purchased by Rodgers Brothers Inc.

Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,660 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $502,585,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 313.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after buying an additional 2,010,319 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 157.2% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $197,377,000 after buying an additional 1,103,459 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 8,766.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $118,168,000 after buying an additional 1,068,748 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in 3M by 218.3% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,489,351 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $147,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021,440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MMM. Wolfe Research raised 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Vertical Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on 3M in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.17.

3M Stock Up 23.0 %

Shares of NYSE MMM traded up $23.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $127.14. 32,713,519 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,414,272. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.71. The company has a market cap of $70.35 billion, a PE ratio of -9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $128.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.27. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

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.