Sapient Capital LLC Purchases New Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,107 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $886,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fragasso Group Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 3.8% during the third quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 10,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its position in 3M by 4.0% in the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its stake in 3M by 5.3% during the third quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 2,244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.70.

3M Trading Up 0.4 %

MMM stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.15. The company had a trading volume of 4,818,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,770,578. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.14 and a 200 day moving average of $97.59. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $99.70.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.48%.

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.