Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 9,299 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 106.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,004 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 9,299 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $2,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 17,723 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $180,000. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 3M by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 7,219 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment 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, 3M currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.13.

3M Trading Up 1.3 %

MMM traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $141.02. 5,717,193 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,528,391. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.66. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $131.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.93. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. 3M's quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. 3M's payout ratio is 35.35%.

3M Company 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.