Candriam S.C.A. Buys 2,154 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,543 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,154 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in 3M were worth $5,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $146.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.23. The stock has a market cap of $79.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1 year low of $78.14 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’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 value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

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.