abrdn plc Has $91.53 Million Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

abrdn plc lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 837,272 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 159,295 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in 3M were worth $91,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. WP Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth $232,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 8,780 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,507 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Institute for Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

3M Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $92.27 on Friday. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $95.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.76 and its 200 day moving average is $97.30. The firm has a market cap of $51.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.31, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.82%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.