Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 803,994 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $103,788,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth approximately $816,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMM. 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 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $146.36 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $144.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 12-month low of $78.14 and a 12-month high of $156.35. 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 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 company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About 3M

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.