Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 987,896 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,641 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of 3M worth $128,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 4,450 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its stake in 3M by 204.2% during the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 6,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 4,281 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 29,259 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,777,000 after acquiring an additional 6,552 shares during the last quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP lifted its position in shares of 3M by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 2,838 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 254.0% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 446 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $148.48 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.06. 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 stock has a market cap of $80.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a twelve month low of $87.45 and a twelve month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.