Kentucky Trust Co Takes $1.81 Million Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,001 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,807,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 34,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 14,496 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 23,176 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,073 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 58.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,753 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This trade represents a 57.90 % 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 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Up 0.2 %

MMM opened at $150.06 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $155.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $137.44 and its 200 day moving average is $133.25. The stock has a market cap of $81.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MMM shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.