Vision Financial Markets LLC Invests $52,000 in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 400 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth approximately $816,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $147.74 on Thursday. 3M has a 12 month low of $76.86 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market capitalization of $80.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.