Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 30,506 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,440,005 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 30,506 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.27% of 3M worth $185,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in 3M by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 19,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE MMM traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $153.53. 4,117,823 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,016,672. The firm has a market cap of $83.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.88. 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 1-year low of $85.62 and a 1-year high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.