Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 152,183 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 2,377 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $19,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Main Street Research LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 8,076 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,043,000 after buying an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of 3M by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 430,508 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $55,574,000 after buying an additional 12,075 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $1,841,000. Amundi raised its position in 3M by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $337,815,000 after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in 3M by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 20,685 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,670,000 after purchasing an additional 6,369 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

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3M Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of MMM traded down $4.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $145.97. 3,294,913 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,233,955. 3M has a 12 month low of $85.48 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company's fifty day moving average price is $146.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.69. The company has a market capitalization of $79.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict 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 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted 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. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $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 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

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.