Financial Counselors Inc. Acquires 6,552 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,259 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 6,552 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after buying an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in 3M by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $461,761,000 after purchasing an additional 17,228 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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

Shares of MMM stock opened at $152.65 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.99. 3M has a 52-week low of $86.11 and a 52-week high of $156.35. 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 capitalization of $82.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. 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 positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MMM shares. Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 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 increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

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.