Essential Planning LLC. Invests $4.53 Million in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Essential Planning LLC. bought a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 34,483 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $4,527,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.1% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 at this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on 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 owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

3M Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $150.29 on Thursday. 3M has a 12 month low of $82.94 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The firm has a market cap of $81.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 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 50 day moving average is $145.68 and its 200-day moving average is $136.63.

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3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's payout ratio is 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MMM shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.13.

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.

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