Griffin Asset Management Inc. Buys 400 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,960 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of 3M by 75.0% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 21,380 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 9,160 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in 3M by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 401,554 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,035,000 after buying an additional 11,368 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in 3M by 7.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 151,763 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,509,000 after buying an additional 10,599 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 15.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 62,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,387,000 after acquiring an additional 8,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 80.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. now owns 4,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MMM shares. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,903 shares of company stock valued at $8,082,186 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Trading Up 1.3 %

MMM opened at $151.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $152.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.55.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $5,770,390 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.09%.

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.