Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 803,994 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $103,788,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of 3M at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. FMR LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP boosted its position in 3M by 179.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,107,000 after buying an additional 526,194 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in 3M by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,456,000 after buying an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in 3M by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $151,002,000 after buying an additional 308,912 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $146.36 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $144.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.23. 3M has a 52-week low of $78.14 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised 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. 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. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.