Neuberger Berman Group LLC Acquires 341,968 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,701,813 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 341,968 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 0.31% of 3M worth $219,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its stake in 3M by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at $26,359,457.18. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, 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 three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.13.

3M Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $0.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $135.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,589,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,126,197. 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 has a 12 month low of $90.17 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The company has a market capitalization of $73.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $146.37 and its 200 day moving average is $138.39.

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. Analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's dividend 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.