First Merchants Corp Buys Shares of 2,079 3M (NYSE:MMM)

First Merchants Corp purchased a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,079 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $34,564,000 after buying an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MMM stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $148.85. 2,544,042 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,955,163. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $139.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.03. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $155.00. The stock has a market cap of $80.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

About 3M

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.