Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Buys 290 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,166 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MMM opened at $147.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.96. 3M has a twelve month low of $76.86 and a twelve month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.