Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Boosts Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 117,276 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 283 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $15,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,493,655,000 after buying an additional 280,048 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $636,767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $461,761,000 after purchasing an additional 17,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of 3M by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,540,883 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $328,003,000 after buying an additional 533,753 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Price Performance

MMM opened at $126.62 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.58. 3M has a 1 year low of $90.17 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

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.