Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Takes $426,000 Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $426,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 valued at $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in 3M by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after buying an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, 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 worth $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $149.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $137.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.52. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MMM. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Melius Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

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.