Ieq Capital LLC Buys 58,787 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 304.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,787 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $10,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 19,552 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M 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 Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $149.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.41. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

3M 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.