Davidson Trust Co. Raises Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Davidson Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 157 shares during the quarter. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMM. Fragasso Group Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 3.8% during the third quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 836 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 13,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 10,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $91.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,121,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,835,084. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $50.79 billion, a PE ratio of -7.27, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $95.67.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.58%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.82%.

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.