Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,368 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 8,456 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in 3M were worth $31,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 4.7% in the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 82,207 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $11,238,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP raised its stake in 3M by 179.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $112,107,000 after acquiring an additional 526,194 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 2.8% during the third quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 22,110 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,030,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in shares of 3M by 73.4% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 21,204 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,899,000 after purchasing an additional 8,978 shares during the period. Finally, Harmony Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the third quarter worth $438,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $144.87.

3M Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $133.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,912,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,688,348. The stock has a market cap of $72.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.97. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. 3M's revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.