Trinity Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Trinity Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,576 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,086 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,722,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in 3M by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. InvesTrust purchased a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at $6,687,000. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in 3M by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 11,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 4,982 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.33.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $3.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $131.13. The company had a trading volume of 4,342,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,291,967. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.11. The stock has a market cap of $71.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

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.