Tufton Capital Management Has $4.14 Million Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Tufton Capital Management lifted its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 19,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Trading Up 2.1 %

3M stock opened at $150.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $142.21 and a 200-day moving average of $135.20. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $155.00. 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 company has a market cap of $81.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 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 company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.