Cornerstone Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,600 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in 3M by 19.2% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Vision MN LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the second quarter valued at about $512,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMM. StockNews.com lowered 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

MMM opened at $127.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $132.66 and its 200-day moving average is $118.73. The stock has a market cap of $69.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

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 2.20%. 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.