3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Bought by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,958 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,329 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $5,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amundi boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 898,244 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $103,788,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 179.0% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $112,107,000 after buying an additional 526,194 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in 3M by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,983,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $144.74 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average is $149.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.17. 3M has a 12-month low of $88.23 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The company has a market capitalization of $78.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s 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 owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.