Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Makes New $1.54 Million Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 11,939 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,541,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 3M by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 31,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,082,000 after purchasing an additional 7,463 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in 3M by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 38,958 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,029,000 after buying an additional 8,329 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 987,896 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,298,000 after buying an additional 50,641 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 4,450 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 204.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 6,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $823,000 after acquiring an additional 4,281 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of MMM opened at $148.48 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $149.52 and its 200 day moving average is $138.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 12-month low of $87.45 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The company has a market capitalization of $80.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend 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.