Boston Financial Mangement LLC Raises Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,841 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 9.0% during 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. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $149.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $155.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Equities 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. 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 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.