Invesco Ltd. Acquires 1,520,619 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 51.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.82% of 3M worth $576,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 19,552 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction 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 $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % 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 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

3M Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $127.14 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $68.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.62 and a 200-day moving average of $138.41. 3M has a 12-month low of $90.17 and a 12-month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. 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. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 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.