Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $8,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMM. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 0.5% in the third quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 16,186 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,464 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weatherly Asset Management L. P. boosted its stake in 3M by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 2,730 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MMM traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $132.72. 1,213,884 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,213,650. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $130.51 and its 200-day moving average is $126.65. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The business’s revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.33.

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.