FORA Capital LLC Makes New Investment in 3M Company $MMM

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,534 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 573,293 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $74,006,000 after buying an additional 205,661 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,751 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $925,859.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,522. The trade was a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total transaction of $523,740.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.10.

3M Stock Up 0.1%

MMM opened at $156.79 on Thursday. 3M Company has a fifty-two week low of $121.98 and a fifty-two week high of $164.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $152.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.05.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. 3M’s payout ratio is 40.61%.

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.