Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 2,251 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,815 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,251 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in 3M during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 419.1% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 689.7% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $133.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The company has a market cap of $73.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $135.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.13.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -22.01%.

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.