Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Raises Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,157 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings 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 worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $144.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market cap of $78.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $140.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.62.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted 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. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

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.