Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,726 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $816,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at $26,359,457.18. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.74. 3,909,629 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,306,429. 3M has a 12 month low of $76.86 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $143.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.96. The firm has a market cap of $80.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

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.