NewEdge Wealth LLC Grows Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 49.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,080 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,011 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,590,533,000 after purchasing an additional 317,483 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,474,791 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,203,635,000 after buying an additional 619,370 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,315,417 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,684,639,000 after buying an additional 758,126 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in 3M by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,769,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,291,535,000 after buying an additional 825,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in 3M by 0.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,413,149 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,103,670,000 after acquiring an additional 44,714 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $91.05 on Wednesday. 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 twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $95.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.31.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com raised 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 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.