Register Financial Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,605 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,590,533,000 after buying an additional 317,483 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 0.4% in the 4th 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 acquired a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 1,273.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $413,637,000 after buying an additional 3,508,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in 3M by 313.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $289,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,319 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded down $0.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $102.18. 6,195,095 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,528,256. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $106.04. The stock has a market cap of $56.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. The firm had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. Equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s payout ratio is presently -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

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.