Ingalls & Snyder LLC Grows Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in 3M by 15.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 110,988 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,391,000 after buying an additional 14,775 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth $3,855,000. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 49.7% during the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $1,723,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $91.31 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $95.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.34.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.82%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on 3M in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.50.

3M 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.