3M (NYSE:MMM) Stake Boosted by Mystic Asset Management Inc.

Mystic Asset Management Inc. raised its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 90.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,958 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 4,244 shares during the quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 51.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 651 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 44.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 154,449 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $21,113,000 after buying an additional 47,817 shares in the last quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth approximately $422,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,013 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $8,751,000 after buying an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 2.1% during the third quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 15,074 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.13.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $150.35. 5,538,508 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,036,029. 3M has a 52 week low of $85.62 and a 52 week high of $156.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $81.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M's payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

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.