WESPAC Advisors LLC Purchases 7,507 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

WESPAC Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 176.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,770 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 7,507 shares during the period. 3M comprises about 1.1% of WESPAC Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. WESPAC Advisors LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $1,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $4,951,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 13,157 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $516,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 9,475 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drum Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter worth $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM traded down $4.21 on Friday, reaching $144.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,278,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,106,559. The firm has a market cap of $78.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.62. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. 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 (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. 3M's payout ratio is 38.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Company 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.