Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $2.51 Million Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,477 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 478 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its stake in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at $816,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This trade represents a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $155.25 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $84.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $142.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.49. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.50.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its 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. The firm 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 business’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio 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.