Xponance Inc. Boosts Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 96,536 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $12,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $150.64 on Wednesday. 3M has a 1 year low of $85.62 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $147.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

3M Company Profile

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.