3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Purchased by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,981 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in 3M were worth $10,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in 3M by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 17,211 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in 3M by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 47,161 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,447,000 after buying an additional 6,671 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in 3M by 19.5% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,474 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,475 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MMM. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Barclays upped their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $149.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $136.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.21. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.00. The firm has a market cap of $81.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.