VELA Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

VELA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,195 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,547 shares during the quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,246,367,000 after purchasing an additional 377,703 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 3M by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $517,617,000 after buying an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $502,585,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in 3M by 313.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in 3M by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,168,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $228,875,000 after acquiring an additional 164,236 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. HSBC raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.43.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $131.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $72.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.33, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $134.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

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.