Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 280,048 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,493,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MMM. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 44.1% during 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. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in 3M by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on 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 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE MMM opened at $147.74 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $149.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $79.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a one year low of $89.54 and a one year high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of 3M 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.