Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 51.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,779 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 3,309 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $1,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,161 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $8,396,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance lifted its holdings in 3M by 18.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 2,600 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in 3M by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 69,283 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $7,080,000 after purchasing an additional 15,939 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in 3M by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 85,724 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $8,760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,481 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 17.6% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 34,758 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,552,000 after buying an additional 5,205 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Shares of NYSE MMM traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $141.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,717,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,528,391. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market cap of $76.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50 day moving average is $131.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.56.
3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The business's revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.35%.
Several research firms recently weighed in on MMM. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho boosted their target price on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.13.
View Our Latest Research Report on MMM
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.
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