3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 314,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,385 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.06% of 3M worth $40,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $636,767,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,541,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 31,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,082,000 after buying an additional 7,463 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in 3M by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 38,958 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,029,000 after acquiring an additional 8,329 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in 3M by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 987,896 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $128,298,000 after acquiring an additional 50,641 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $144.74 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.29. 3M has a 52-week low of $88.23 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 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 (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.