Washington Trust Bank Reduces Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Washington Trust Bank lessened its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,227 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in 3M were worth $933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth $851,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 35,356 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,564,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 1,468.3% during the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 55,250 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,132,000 after purchasing an additional 51,727 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in 3M by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 747,954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $96,553,000 after buying an additional 280,015 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in 3M by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 232,477 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,010,000 after purchasing an additional 5,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.6 %

MMM stock opened at $150.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $81.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.47. 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 has a 12 month low of $85.62 and a 12 month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This trade represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.