Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $7.25 Million in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 49,365 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $7,250,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,898 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 102,773 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,267,000 after purchasing an additional 11,032 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in 3M by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 314,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,559,000 after purchasing an additional 42,385 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in 3M by 321.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,097,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $141,708,000 after purchasing an additional 837,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in 3M by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 272,207 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.33.

3M Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE MMM opened at $152.18 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. 3M Company has a 12 month low of $119.31 and a 12 month high of $164.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.46. The stock has a market cap of $81.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.