Groupama Asset Managment Buys Shares of 16,174 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 16,174 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,089,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Up 0.1 %

MMM stock opened at $147.85 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52-week low of $89.54 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.56.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced 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. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M 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.