Financial Counselors Inc. Purchases 6,552 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,259 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 6,552 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $3,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in 3M by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $337,815,000 after buying an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $103,788,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 179.0% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $112,107,000 after purchasing an additional 526,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % 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, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MMM traded down $3.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $144.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,581,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,133,279. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.23. The stock has a market cap of $78.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a 12 month low of $88.23 and a 12 month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M's payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.