3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Purchased by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,063 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 31,044 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $15,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,493,655,000 after buying an additional 280,048 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in 3M by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in 3M by 9.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $636,767,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of 3M by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $576,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lowered 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, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.00.

3M Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MMM stock traded down $1.58 on Friday, reaching $137.30. 2,141,243 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,172,344. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $143.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.19. 3M has a 52 week low of $90.65 and a 52 week high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,736 shares of company stock worth $9,081,260. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.