World Investment Advisors Has $1.73 Million Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,373 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in 3M were worth $1,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $18,408,000 after purchasing an additional 22,203 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Down 9.4 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $126.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $149.05 and its 200 day moving average is $138.55. 3M has a 52 week low of $90.17 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.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.