3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Acquired by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $6,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. FMR LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $103,788,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the third quarter worth about $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in 3M by 179.0% in the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $112,107,000 after acquiring an additional 526,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $146.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a twelve month low of $77.01 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.19 and a 200 day moving average of $136.03. The stock has a market cap of $79.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 note on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Company 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.