Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 750 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $97,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 118.6% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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 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 issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. Finally, UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $152.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $82.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.07. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $155.00.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % 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. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company 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.