J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases 1,106 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,780 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 73,903.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,656,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $798,258,000 after buying an additional 6,647,593 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 1,273.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $413,637,000 after buying an additional 3,508,334 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $369,974,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 1,889.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,356,600 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $201,971,000 after buying an additional 1,288,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 8,766.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $118,168,000 after buying an additional 1,068,748 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $92.27 on Monday. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $95.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $95.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.36.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by 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.