Westpac Banking Corp Increases Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 54,134 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,072 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $6,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in 3M by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $147.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.56. 3M has a twelve month low of $89.54 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

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.