Empower Advisory Group LLC Raises Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 12.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,806 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its position in 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in 3M by 19.2% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Vision MN LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the second quarter worth approximately $512,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock opened at $131.45 on Thursday. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.34. The company has a market capitalization of $71.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.40.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

About 3M

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.