Heritage Investment Group Inc. Takes Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Heritage Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,709 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in 3M during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $15,855,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 3M by 3.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 29,553 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,246,367,000 after purchasing an additional 377,703 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 116.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 170,766 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,106,000 after buying an additional 91,941 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 6.5% in the first quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 342,184 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,305,000 after purchasing an additional 20,900 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM traded down $1.82 on Friday, reaching $129.79. 1,929,226 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,844,047. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market cap of $70.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MMM. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.