Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Makes New $1.54 Million Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,939 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,541,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $18,408,000 after purchasing an additional 22,203 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $3.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $144.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,581,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,133,279. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $149.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 12 month low of $88.23 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. 3M's payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

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.