3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Busey Bank

Busey Bank lessened its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,998 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 3,167 shares during the period. Busey Bank's holdings in 3M were worth $2,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMM. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 8.6% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 17,211 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 118.6% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in 3M by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 2,466.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,291 shares of company stock worth $9,339,786 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of 3M stock traded up $2.77 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $154.31. 3,954,510 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,686,048. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. 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 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $154.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $134.20 and a 200-day moving average of $130.37.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. 3M's payout ratio is 37.09%.

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.