Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Has $574,000 Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,450 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 633 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 3M by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after buying an additional 302,900 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in 3M by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $521,596,000 after acquiring an additional 43,942 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $461,761,000 after purchasing an additional 17,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in 3M by 55.7% in the fourth 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. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % 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. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

MMM opened at $148.48 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.06. 3M has a 52-week low of $87.45 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 business posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

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.