Vontobel Holding Ltd. Purchases 6,710 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,940 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 6,710 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in 3M were worth $4,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $1.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $149.08. 2,231,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,913,787. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $139.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $80.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. 3M's payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a 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. Finally, UBS Group raised 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.87.

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.