Premier Fund Managers Ltd Takes Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 77,300 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $9,984,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $148.48 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.06. 3M has a 12 month low of $87.45 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The company has a market cap of $80.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

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

3M Increases Dividend

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