Alliancebernstein L.P. Purchases 533,753 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,540,883 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 533,753 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.47% of 3M worth $328,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of 3M by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,580 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at about $19,789,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 2,947.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 18,224 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,491,000 after acquiring an additional 17,626 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $147.03 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market cap of $79.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.72 and a 200-day moving average of $138.39. 3M has a 12-month low of $88.23 and a 12-month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at $734,564.70. This trade represents a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in 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.