Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Buys 5,109 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 232,477 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,109 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in 3M were worth $30,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 96,536 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,462,000 after buying an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 87,856 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,341,000 after buying an additional 20,471 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at $5,107,000. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 12,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. Citigroup raised their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $151.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1 year low of $85.62 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.96 and a 200-day moving average of $137.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’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 value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Company 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.