HM Payson & Co. Has $3.12 Million Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,140 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,249 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $816,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $146.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $144.51 and its 200 day moving average is $136.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 1 year low of $78.14 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted 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 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 the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

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.