3M (NYSE:MMM) Stake Increased by Tufton Capital Management

Tufton Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 454 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its position in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of 3M by 179.0% in the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $112,107,000 after acquiring an additional 526,194 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in 3M by 39.1% during 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 last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % 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 worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MMM shares. Barclays upped their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 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. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Trading Up 2.1 %

3M stock opened at $150.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

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.