2,195 Shares in 3M (NYSE:MMM) Bought by Guardian Partners Inc.

Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,195 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth $44,983,000. Umpqua Bank lifted its position in shares of 3M by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,560 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in 3M by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 147,942 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $19,099,000 after purchasing an additional 17,330 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 102,773 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $13,267,000 after buying an additional 11,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in 3M by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 51,612 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $6,663,000 after buying an additional 15,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Barclays upped their price objective 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 raised their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.13.

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3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.53. 4,117,823 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,016,672. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.71. 3M has a 52-week low of $85.62 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The company has a market capitalization of $83.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, 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 current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M 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.