Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 631,206 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $81,482,000. 3M makes up 1.6% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MMM. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 230.1% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.47.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $135.24 on Wednesday. 3M has a 1-year low of $90.17 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The stock has a market cap of $72.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $145.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.36.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. 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. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value 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 approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last ninety 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.