3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Bought by Strong Tower Advisory Services

Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,715 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 2,020 shares during the quarter. 3M makes up 1.6% of Strong Tower Advisory Services' portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Strong Tower Advisory Services' holdings in 3M were worth $6,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in 3M by 1.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $258,686,000 after acquiring an additional 396,773 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $173,336,000 after purchasing an additional 161,036 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho boosted their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.13.

3M Stock Performance

MMM traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $141.02. The company had a trading volume of 5,717,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,528,391. The company has a market cap of $76.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $141.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

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

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M's payout ratio is presently 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.