Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 293,418 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 92.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 610,010 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 293,418 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.11% of 3M worth $83,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 689.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 356 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 0.9 %

MMM stock opened at $128.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $132.56 and a 200-day moving average of $119.11. The company has a market cap of $69.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 lowered shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

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.