Griffin Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 8,365 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $855,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,246,367,000 after purchasing an additional 377,703 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,320,649,000 after buying an additional 43,732 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $502,585,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in 3M by 10.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,531,722 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $480,680,000 after buying an additional 435,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in 3M by 313.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $289,803,000 after buying an additional 2,010,319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $128.64. 2,300,398 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,283,855. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $71.18 billion, a PE ratio of -10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $129.99.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price target on 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Vertical Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.57.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.