3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Bought by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 19,079 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the first quarter worth about $165,986,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of 3M by 218.3% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,489,351 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $147,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,440 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in 3M by 1,015.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 888,564 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $94,247,000 after buying an additional 808,914 shares during the period. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the second quarter valued at approximately $76,732,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $129.76 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.87. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $141.34. The stock has a market cap of $70.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

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.