3M (NYSE:MMM) Position Increased by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 262.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,190 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 12,448 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 419.1% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.17.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $103.25. 3,240,006 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,226,490. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $106.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

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.