Independent Advisor Alliance Grows Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 43.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,431 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,140 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $172,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 1,015.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 888,564 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $94,247,000 after acquiring an additional 808,914 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the second quarter valued at about $76,732,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at about $82,208,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of 3M by 11.8% during the second 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

3M Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $130.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $132.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.51. The company has a market cap of $70.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The business’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.35%.

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.