Venturi Wealth Management LLC Purchases 5,315 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 1,436.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,685 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 5,315 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in 3M by 11,601.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $172,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP lifted its stake in 3M by 179.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $112,107,000 after acquiring an additional 526,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in 3M by 39.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $151,002,000 after acquiring an additional 308,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock traded down $3.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $145.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,962,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,850,410. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $140.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 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 posted $2.42 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's payout ratio is presently 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.