Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Grows Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 33.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,265 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,115 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $6,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,564,000 after buying an additional 13,473 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,931,000 after buying an additional 6,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Vision MN LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $512,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $132.95 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $132.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMM. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Argus upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

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.