V Square Quantitative Management LLC Purchases 197 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,055 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $823,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in 3M by 11.4% in the first quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its position in 3M by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in 3M by 4.2% in the second quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,638 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 3.4% during the first quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MMM. UBS Group boosted their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. HSBC upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.57.

3M Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of 3M stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,908,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,361,965. The firm has a market cap of $69.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $128.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $108.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.