Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $3.17 Million Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,567 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV grew its stake in 3M by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This represents a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $144.74 on Friday. 3M has a 1 year low of $88.23 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. The stock has a market cap of $78.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.23.

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

3M Increases Dividend

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

3M Company 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.