Winebrenner Capital Management LLC Invests $516,000 in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Winebrenner Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 9,475 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Drum Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $749,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 9,220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $144.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.56. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $155.00. The company has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Two equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the firm’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 owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,564.70. This trade represents a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate 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.