Alberta Investment Management Corp Invests $1.52 Million in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 11,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in 3M by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 19,552 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMM. Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $144.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $140.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.56. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

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.