James Reed Financial Services Inc. Takes Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

James Reed Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,534 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000. 3M makes up approximately 0.3% of James Reed Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 10.5% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in 3M in the third quarter valued at about $335,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in 3M by 11.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 88,912 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,373,000 after acquiring an additional 8,816 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M in the third quarter valued at about $257,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in 3M by 55.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 549,274 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $75,086,000 after acquiring an additional 195,191 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $153.19 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $143.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.