D Orazio & Associates Inc. Acquires 106 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,323 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 3M by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $521,596,000 after buying an additional 43,942 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its stake in 3M by 14.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $173,336,000 after buying an additional 161,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 11,601.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Stock Down 1.6 %

3M stock opened at $149.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $81.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.21.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Two 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 $148.87.

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.