Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $1.58 Million Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 88,912 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $11,373,000 after acquiring an additional 8,816 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 55.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 549,274 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $75,086,000 after acquiring an additional 195,191 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $173,336,000 after acquiring an additional 161,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $145.76 on Wednesday. 3M has a 1 year low of $76.56 and a 1 year high of $156.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $79.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.87.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This trade represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

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.