WASHINGTON TRUST Co Boosts Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,179 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in 3M were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 1,450.6% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,419 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in 3M by 1.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 153,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 104.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,754 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 6,503 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 9.7% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M 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 directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $155.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

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.