Essex Financial Services Inc. Acquires 835 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,073 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 0.8% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, William Allan Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 5,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents 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 sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Up 0.2 %

MMM opened at $150.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $137.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.25. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

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.