3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 987,896 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 50,641 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in 3M were worth $128,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the third quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in 3M by 2,466.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $148.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $80.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $149.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.06. 3M has a 1-year low of $87.45 and a 1-year high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. 3M’s payout ratio 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.