Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Buys Shares of 11,939 3M (NYSE:MMM)

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

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

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $147.03 on Tuesday. 3M has a 1 year low of $88.23 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The company has a market cap of $79.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 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's fifty day moving average price is $149.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.39.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Company 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.