Crowley Wealth Management Inc. Invests $146,000 in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,134 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $146,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of 3M by 5.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,013 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,751,000 after buying an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 737,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,820,000 after acquiring an additional 9,158 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter worth $6,191,000. Nwam LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the third quarter worth $1,754,000. Finally, Leelyn Smith LLC raised its stake in 3M by 1.3% in the third quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 21,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $150.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.52. The stock has a market cap of $81.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52-week low of $85.62 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

3M 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.