Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Purchases 6,369 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 44.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,685 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 6,369 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in 3M by 9.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $146.36 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 stock has a market cap of $79.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $144.51 and a 200-day moving average of $136.23. 3M has a one year low of $78.14 and a one year high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results 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 business 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 business earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter 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 year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio 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.