Bank of Montreal Can Has $110.67 Million Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 857,304 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 242,490 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in 3M were worth $110,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $636,767,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of 3M by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $337,815,000 after buying an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 321.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,097,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $141,708,000 after buying an additional 837,226 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,788,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of 3M by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,540,883 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $328,003,000 after acquiring an additional 533,753 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company 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 note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.47.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $127.14 on Wednesday. 3M has a 52-week low of $90.17 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

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. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

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.