Westpac Banking Corp Increases Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,134 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 8,072 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $6,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 15,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its stake in 3M by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 3,509 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,089,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,493,655,000 after buying an additional 280,048 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 925,534 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $119,477,000 after acquiring an additional 80,133 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $147.85 on Thursday. 3M has a 12 month low of $89.54 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market cap of $79.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

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.