Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 15.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 737,075 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 97,741 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of 3M worth $100,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in 3M by 8.6% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 17,211 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 689.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.
Several analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Argus upgraded 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $139.27.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MMM
Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $134.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $73.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.50. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $141.34.
3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.
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.
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