Mystic Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 90.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,958 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,244 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $153.31 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.04. 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 company has a market capitalization of $83.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

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.