Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $94.08 Million Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 728,752 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 8,323 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of 3M worth $94,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in 3M by 1.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in 3M by 14.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $173,336,000 after purchasing an additional 161,036 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of 3M stock traded down $4.21 on Friday, hitting $144.87. The stock had a trading volume of 4,278,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,924,529. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $140.32 and a 200 day moving average of $134.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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 for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.87.

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.