Modera Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,424 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 9.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Stock Down 1.2 %

MMM opened at $153.19 on Tuesday. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $143.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.74. The company has a market cap of $83.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.