3M (NYSE:MMM) Stake Boosted by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,967 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 3M by 11.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,617,000 after purchasing an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 2.0% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $506,135,000 after purchasing an additional 97,340 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 18.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $258,686,000 after purchasing an additional 396,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in 3M by 0.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,940,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $198,298,000 after purchasing an additional 11,315 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $132.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $72.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.50. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 35.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays boosted 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 Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

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.