3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Acquired by WESPAC Advisors LLC

WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 176.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,770 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,507 shares during the quarter. 3M makes up about 1.1% of WESPAC Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. WESPAC Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $172,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 179.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,107,000 after acquiring an additional 526,194 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in 3M by 39.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $151,002,000 after purchasing an additional 308,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $144.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $140.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.62. 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 (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last three months. Company 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.