Westpac Banking Corp Boosts Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,134 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 8,072 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in 3M were worth $6,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $636,767,000. Amundi raised its holdings in 3M by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $337,815,000 after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of 3M by 321.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,097,747 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $141,708,000 after purchasing an additional 837,226 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $103,788,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of 3M by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,540,883 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $328,003,000 after buying an additional 533,753 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.13.

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3M Stock Down 9.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $13.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $126.62. 9,608,022 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,104,099. 3M has a 52-week low of $89.54 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The stock has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $149.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.57. 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 issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company's revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid 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 yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % 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 currently owned by insiders.

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.