HTLF Bank Invests $1.42 Million in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

HTLF Bank purchased a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,977 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,419,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,590,533,000 after purchasing an additional 317,483 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.7% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,474,791 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,203,635,000 after purchasing an additional 619,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 7.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,315,417 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,684,639,000 after purchasing an additional 758,126 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,769,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,291,535,000 after purchasing an additional 825,223 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,413,149 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,103,670,000 after buying an additional 44,714 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MMM. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

3M Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $92.00. 914,979 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,832,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.22. The company has a market cap of $50.91 billion, a PE ratio of -7.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $95.67.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.57%. 3M’s payout ratio is -47.82%.

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.