Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 2,599 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 55,389 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $7,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M during the third quarter worth $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 118.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target 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. Two research 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, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $149.59 on Tuesday. 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 has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.11 and a 200-day moving average of $132.92.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This represents a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.