Premier Fund Managers Ltd Invests $9.98 Million in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 77,300 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $9,984,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,408,000 after purchasing an additional 22,203 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $148.48 on Friday. 3M has a 1 year low of $87.45 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $149.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.06. 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 firm has a market cap of $80.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. 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 1.97%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is 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.