Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Takes $58.30 Million Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 451,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $58,295,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of 3M by 9.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth $636,767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $461,761,000 after purchasing an additional 17,228 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in 3M by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $337,815,000 after buying an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $144.74 on Friday. 3M has a twelve month low of $88.23 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.23. The company has a market capitalization of $78.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 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.