3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Acquired by Choreo LLC

Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 70,444 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 513 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $9,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $151.73 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $135.98 and its 200-day moving average is $131.93. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00. The firm has a market cap of $82.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 37.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Melius raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

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.