WASHINGTON TRUST Co Purchases 250 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,179 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in 3M were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in 3M by 1,450.6% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,419 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,263 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in 3M by 1.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 153,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in 3M by 104.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,754 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,743,000 after acquiring an additional 6,503 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the third quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in 3M by 9.7% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $155.00. The company has a market cap of $80.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $138.80 and a 200 day moving average of $133.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 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 Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

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.