Moors & Cabot Inc. Increases Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 17.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,403 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 419.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 689.7% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.43.

3M Trading Down 0.8 %

3M stock opened at $133.57 on Wednesday. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $135.28. The company has a market capitalization of $73.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.