Polymer Capital Management US LLC Takes $2.84 Million Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,840,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in 3M by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $126.62 on Monday. 3M has a 1 year low of $90.17 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMM. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

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.