Bank of Nova Scotia Has $24.30 Million Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 153.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,210 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 114,069 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in 3M were worth $24,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its holdings in 3M by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in 3M by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the 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 directly owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.13.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $136.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 985,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,124,135. The company has a market capitalization of $73.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. 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 fifty-two week low of $90.17 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.37 and a 200-day moving average of $138.39.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. 3M's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

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.