CoreFirst Bank & Trust Makes New $114,000 Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 880 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $114,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in 3M by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $521,596,000 after acquiring an additional 43,942 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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 shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on 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 assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $153.53 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $83.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $149.05 and its 200-day moving average is $137.88. 3M has a 1 year low of $85.62 and a 1 year high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 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 1.90%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 value of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,564.70. This represents a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.