Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 39,562 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,107,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $816,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $150.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a 52-week low of $85.62 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $147.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.15. The stock has a market cap of $81.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly 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. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 55.70 % 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 worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.