Otter Creek Advisors LLC Purchases 840 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Otter Creek Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the quarter. 3M comprises about 3.3% of Otter Creek Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Otter Creek Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. State Street Corp increased its position in 3M by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after buying an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $521,596,000 after buying an additional 43,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,521,626 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $196,427,000 after acquiring an additional 253,623 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $147.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $141.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.09. The firm has a market cap of $80.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

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.