Simplify Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 42.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 34,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,321 shares during the quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 419.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in 3M by 689.7% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $133.84 on Friday. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $135.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.52, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.50.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.43.

3M 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.