Choate Investment Advisors Raises Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Choate Investment Advisors increased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,902 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,672 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in 3M were worth $2,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its position in 3M by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the business’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 transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,359,457.18. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $150.58 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 stock has a market capitalization of $81.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52-week low of $85.62 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. 3M’s payout ratio is 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.