Heritage Trust Co Takes Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,146 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the third quarter valued at $259,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in 3M by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,547 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $8,417,000 after acquiring an additional 13,193 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 22.4% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,768 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in 3M by 255.1% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 78,978 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $10,796,000 after purchasing an additional 56,734 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 44.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 72,733 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $9,943,000 after purchasing an additional 22,461 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.47.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $135.24. 2,541,199 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,130,276. The company has a market capitalization of $72.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. 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 12-month low of $90.17 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $146.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.38.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company's revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.